Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled March 18, 2025, for a ruling on the preliminary objection raised by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) against a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE. The suit involves a dispute over an oil import license.
The decision came after both parties represented by Ademola Abimbola, SAN, for NNPCL, and John Ibrahim, SAN, for Dangote Refinery presented their arguments and adopted their written submissions regarding the suit.
Initially, the case was set for a hearing on Wednesday, but the court had to adjourn after Ibrahim informed the court that his client had yet to file a response to the preliminary objection. When the matter resumed, Abimbola stated that they were prepared to proceed with the hearing of the objection.
The objection, filed by NNPCL on November 15, 2024, seeks an order to either strike out the entire suit for lack of jurisdiction or, alternatively, remove NNPCL’s name from the proceedings. The application was supported by an affidavit and written address, and following the submission of Dangote Refinery’s counter affidavit, NNPCL filed a further affidavit in response on February 3, 2025.
Ibrahim, on the other hand, filed a five-paragraph counter affidavit on January 31, 2025, and argued that NNPCL’s preliminary objection was unnecessary. He urged the court to dismiss it.
After hearing both parties, Justice Ekwo adjourned the case to March 18 for a ruling on the objection.
