Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has withdrawn its lawsuit against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), and five petroleum companies.
The suit, which was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 since 6 September 2024, was formally discontinued on Monday by the plaintiff’s legal team.
According to a notice of discontinuance filed before the court, Dangote Refinery resolved to end the proceedings against all seven defendants, including AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
The withdrawal of the suit, dated 28 July, was signed by its lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
“Take notice that the plaintiff herein discontinues this suit against the defendants forthwith,” parts of the court notice read.
Recall that Dangote Refinery had requested the court to award it N100 billion in damages against the NMDPRA and others for issuing import licences to some marketers and allowing the importation of petroleum products.
The firms affected by the suit are NNPC Ltd, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, and 2015 Petroleum Limited.
The refinery had asked the court to declare that NMDPRA is in violation of Section 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act by issuing licences for the importation of petroleum products.
The withdrawal of the suit comes as petrol imports declined in the last quarter after Dangote Refinery kicked off petroleum product sales in September last year.
