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Import licence: NNPCL asks court to strike out Dangote Refinery’s suit
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The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, describing it as “incompetent.”
The NNPCL, in a notice of preliminary objection filed by its team of lawyers led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, before Justice Inyang Ekwo, argued that the suit is premature.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the application, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 dated and filed on Nov. 15, was sighted on Wednesday.
NNPCL seeks two orders, which include an order of the honourable court striking out the suit for lack of jurisdiction and alternatively, an order striking out the name of the 2nd defendant (NNPCL) from the suit.
Giving six-ground argument, the corporation argued that Dangote Refinery lacked locus standi to institute the suit.
“The plaintiff’s suit is premature. The plaintiff’s suit discloses no cause of action. The 2nd defendant is not a competent party. The plaintiff’s suit is incompetent. This honourable court lacks the jurisdiction to hear this suit,” the NNPCL said.
In the affidavit in support of the application deposed to by Isiaka Popoola, a clerk in the law firm of Afe Babalola & Co, counsel to the NNPCL, he said one of their lawyers, Esther Longe who perused Dangote’s originating summons, affidavit and written address told him that an examination of the processes showed that NNPC sued by the refinery was non-existent entity.
Popoola averred that the court lacked jurisdiction over the 2nd defendant sued as NNPC.
“This 2nd defendant in this suit as consistently seen on the face of the plaintiff’s originating summons, the affidavit in support and the written address as “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC)”
“A simple search on the CAC website shows that there is no entity called “Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC).”
“The print out of the said search is hereby attached and marked as Exhibit A,” he said.
According to Popoola, the 2nd defendant/objector is not one and the same with the 2nd defendant sued by the plaintiff.
“The registered name of the 2nd defendant/objector is Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and this is the only name it can be sued by,” he added.
He said the NNPCL as sued by the refinery in the instant suit, is not a competent party or a juristic person.
Popoola, who averred that the suit is incompetent and ought to be struck out, prayed the court to grant their application in the interest of justice.
NAN had earlier reported that three oil marketers had also prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
The oil marketers, in a joint counter affidavit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 filed on Nov. 5 in response to Dangote Refinery’s originating summons, told Justice Ekwo that granting that application would spell doom for the country’s oil sector.
According to them, the plan to monopolise the oil sector is a recipe for disaster in the country.
The three marketers; AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, in their response, said the plaintiff did not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians.
Besides, they argued that there was nothing placed before the court to prove the contrary.
Dangote Refinery had sued Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) as 1st and 2nd defendants.
Also listed as 3rd to 7th defendants respectively in the originating summons dated Sept. 6 are AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
It prayed the court to nullify import licences issued by NMDPRA to the NNPCL and five other companies for the purpose of importing refined petroleum products.
The company also prayed the court to declare that NMDPRA was in violation of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products.
It stated that such licenses should only be issued in circumstances where there is a petroleum product shortfall.
It also urged the court to declare that NMDPRA is in violation of its statutory responsibilities under the PIA for not encouraging local refineries such as the company.
The company equally sought a N100 billion in damages against NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to issue import licences to NNPCL and the five companies for importing petroleum products.
These it said are Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet Fuel (aviation turbine fuel) into Nigeria, “despite the production of AGO and Jet-A1 that exceeds the current daily consumption of petroleum products in Nigeria by the Dangote Refinery.”
Justice Ekwo had fixed Jan. 20, 2025 for report of settlement or service
News
Unleashing unusual loyalty: Edo APC chairman, Tenebe, reportedly threatens to ‘kpai’ critics over FB post on Gov Okpebholo
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Jarrett Tenebe, has displayed an unusual loyalty by threatening to kill a critic following a social media report alleging that Governor Monday Okpebholo travelled to Abuja to protest his exclusion from the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
The controversy started with a Facebook post by Samuel Iyobosa, who claimed that Okpebholo had travelled to Abuja to protest his alleged exclusion from the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Tenebe reacted to Iyobosa’s post by threatening him, stating, “Bastard stop lying and if you continue you die.”
The threat subsequently triggered further exchanges between Tenebe and other social media users who commented on the development.
One of the users, Baron Mike, wrote, “Nehizena Ogunrobo see as party chairman dey react. Brainless man.”
In response, Tenebe allegedly wrote, “Baron Mike talk nonsense you die because you are talking rubbish.”
Tenebe also directed another comment at Baron Mike, stating, “Baron Mike Baron Mike come to Nigeria and talk.”
News
CCTV Captures Armed Robbery Suspects at Benin City Hair Shop, Luxury Wigs Worth Millions Stolen
CCTV has captured the moment a hair vendor in Benin City, Edo State, was allegedly robbed by armed individuals who made away with luxury wigs reportedly worth millions of naira.
The incident occurred on Saturday at a hair shop located on Tony Anenih Road, off Ebenezer School Road, Ihama, GRA, Benin City.
According to the shop owner, who operates the Instagram account @official.pricelessstrands, the suspects had visited the shop a day earlier pretending to make enquiries about getting a customer’s hair done.
She said they returned a few hours later and carried out the robbery after another man, allegedly armed with a gun, arrived at the premises.
Sharing clearer CCTV footage of the incident on Instagram, the vendor alleged that the suspects initially sat in the waiting area, pretending they were waiting for a third person to make payment for a braiding session.
She wrote that as soon as the man arrived with a gun, the group began the operation.
According to her account, the robbers forced the two staff members on duty into an inner office where the shop’s more expensive luxury hair products were stored. They then packed several bags containing wigs and other hair products before locking the employees inside the office and fleeing the scene.
The business owner said one of the suspects was captured clearly on the CCTV footage, while another suspect, described as a woman wearing a black top with a noticeable facial scar, had also visited the shop the previous day under the guise of making enquiries.
She appealed to members of the public to help identify the suspects by sharing the CCTV footage widely on social media.
«”This is the face of one of the armed robbers who just robbed my office. Himself and the scar-faced lady on black top came yesterday in the guise of making enquiries about making her hair, only for them to return today to rob the office and loot hairs worth millions in several bags,” she said.»
The hair vendor called on security agencies and residents of Benin City to assist in identifying and apprehending those responsible for the robbery.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from the Edo State Police Command regarding the incident or whether any arrests had been made.
The CCTV footage has since been circulated online as the shop owner seeks public assistance in bringing the suspects to justice.
News
Tears flow in Borgu as terrorists unleash deadly attack , k!ill 40, kidn*ap over 100 in Niger State after Friday prayers
Tears flow as gunmen in military-styled uniforms invaded four villages in Niger State’s remote Borgu Local Government Area moments after Friday prayers, leaving more than 40 people dead and over 100 abducted in what residents are calling the deadliest attack in the area this year.
The rampage tore through Dekara, Gidan Zana, Sabon Gida, and Masaka — communities tucked along the border with Kebbi, Kwara, and the Republic of Benin.
Witnesses told the BBC the attackers rode into Dekara right after worshippers left the mosque.
“They gathered people in the open, picked out men, women and children, and marched them into the forest,” a resident said. From there, the gunmen fanned out to neighbouring villages, shooting, burning, and abducting.
Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the toll: “More than 40 people were killed. Over 100 were abducted. We suspect these are bandits, but the pattern is getting worse.”
Local lawmaker Jafar Muhammad Shetiman Borgu also confirmed the attacks, warning that the scale and audacity point to something darker.
—Fear Of Recruitment, Jihadist Link—
Officials say Borgu has become a corridor for armed groups — bandit gangs, jihadists, and cross-border fighters — who exploit vast forests and weak security presence.
Shetiman raised a chilling alarm: “There are fears that some of these gunmen are now trying to recruit young people in the communities they attack.”
In recent months, residents say jihadist fighters have entered villages and imposed religious restrictions. The area’s proximity to Benin makes it a safe haven for groups fleeing military pressure in the North West.
—A Cycle Of Horror—
This is not Borgu’s first tragedy.
Earlier this month, 145 people were rescued from kidnappers in Konkoso, Kasuwan-Daji, Tungan-Makeri and Shafachi. Authorities said they were part of 308 people rescued nationwide, including over 160 from neighbouring Kwara.
Last week alone, more than 20 people*l were killed in Borgu.
And in November 2025, gunmen abducted over 200 pupils from a school in Papiri. They were freed about a month later after negotiations.
Despite repeated military and police operations, large swaths of Niger State remain inaccessible. Armed groups operate from forested hideouts, striking isolated communities and vanishing before reinforcements arrive.
—“The Forests Have Become Their Barracks”—
The latest massacre underscores the collapsing security architecture in North Central Nigeria.
From kidnapping for ransom, to looting, to alleged ideological recruitment, the Borgu attacks show how criminal gangs and jihadist elements are merging into one deadly force.
Governor Umar Bago has yet to make a public statement on the latest killings. Residents say they are living in fear, with many now fleeing to bigger towns.
“The forests have become their barracks. Our villages have become their hunting ground,” a community leader in Dekara said.
As burial preparations begin and families wait for news of the abducted, one question echoes across Borgu: Who will stop the next attack?
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