A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed March 18 to deliver its ruling on a preliminary objection filed by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) against a suit by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE. The suit is related to a dispute over an oil import licence.
The court’s decision to fix a date for the ruling came after counsel to the NNPCL, Ademola Abimbola (SAN), and lawyer to Dangote Refinery, John Ibrahim (SAN), presented their arguments and adopted their processes for and against the suit.
According to reports, the NNPCL had filed a preliminary objection to the suit, seeking an order striking out the case for lack of jurisdiction or, in the alternative, an order striking out the name of the company from the suit.
Abimbola, while moving the application, informed the court that the NNPCL’s notice of preliminary objection, dated and filed on November 15, 2024, was supported by an affidavit and a written address.
Ibrahim, on the other hand, opposed the application, urging the court to dismiss the NNPCL’s preliminary objection for being unnecessary. He adopted a five-paragraph counter-affidavit, dated January 31, and a written address in support of his argument.