THE Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE have sought to amend its suit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others.
The plea to amend the suit followed an application by the NNPCL before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, urging the court to strike out the case for being incompetent.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dangote Refinery had sued Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) as first and second defendants.
Also listed as third to seventh defendants respectively in the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 and dated September 6, are AYM Shafa Limited, A A Rano Limited, T Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
The oil company, through its lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, prayed the court to nullify import licences issued by NMDPRA to the NNPCL and the five other companies for the purpose of importing refined petroleum products.
The plaintiff also prayed the court to declare that NMDPRA was in violation of Sections 317(eight) and (nine) 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 equally sought N100 billion in damages against NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to issue import licences to NNPCL and the five companies for importing petroleum products.
But the NNPCL (second defendant), in its preliminary objection dated and filed November 15, urged the court to strike out the suit.
It argued that the NNPC sued by the Dangote refinery was non-existent entity.
The company, through its lawyer, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, said the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), being its registered name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), is not one and the same with the second defendant sued by the plaintiff.
It further argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over the second defendant sued as NNPC.
“A simple search on the CAC website shows that there is no entity called ‘NNPC,” the second defendant said.
The NNPCL, therefore, said that the second defendant, as sued by the refinery in the instant suit, is not a competent party or a juristic person, urging the court to strike out its name or the suit in its entirety.
Meanwhile, the Dangote Refinery, in a motion on notice dated November 25 but filed November 28 by Onoja, sought an order, granting leave to the company to amend its originating summons in accordance with the rules of the court.
The refinery, in a copy of the motion sighted by NAN on Monday, said this would allow it to correct the name of the second defendant to read: ‘Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,’ instead of ‘Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC)’ earlier listed.
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Vincent Sani, a litigation clerk in the law firm of Onoja, he said he was informed by one of their lawyers, Innocent Adoo, on November 25, that after the filing of the originating processes in the suit, he observed that the second defendant’s name was erroneously spelt, hence, the need for the amendment.
Sani averred that the said amendment had become necessary in order for the record of the court to bear the proper description of the second defendant (NNPCL) as a party in the suit.
The litigation clerk said that the NNPCL was yet to be served with the said originating processes sought to be amended.
Justice Ekwo had fixed January 20, 2025 for report of settlement or service.