Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled March 18 for a ruling on the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s preliminary objection against a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE over an oil import license dispute.
The ruling date was set after both the NNPCL’s counsel, Ademola Abimbola, SAN, and Dangote Refinery’s lawyer, John Ibrahim, SAN, presented their arguments and submitted their respective processes in support of and against the suit.
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The hearing was scheduled after Ibrahim informed the court that they had not yet filed their response to the application. At the resumed hearing, Abimbola confirmed the matter was ready for the hearing of their objection.
Abimbola argued that the preliminary objection, filed on November 15, 2024, sought an order to strike out the suit for lack of jurisdiction or, alternatively, to remove the NNPCL’s name from the suit. He supported this with an affidavit and a written address, and filed a further affidavit on February 3 in response to the refinery’s counter affidavit.
Ibrahim, in turn, said that a five-paragraph counter affidavit had been filed on January 31, and he urged the court to dismiss the NNPCL’s objection as unnecessary.
After hearing both sides, Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until March 18 for a ruling.