Dangote Petroleum Refinery has withdrawn its N100 billion lawsuit challenging the issuance of licences for the importation of petroleum products into Nigeria.
On September 6, 2024, the refinery filed the case against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) as the first defendant, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited as the second defendant, and five other companies.
The additional defendants include AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
Dangote refinery asked the court to declare that the NMDPRA violated sections 317 (8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing petroleum import licences, arguing that such licences should only be granted when there is a shortfall in local production.
At Wednesday’s resumed sitting, the refinery’s counsel, C. O. Adegbe, informed the court that a notice of discontinuance had been filed on July 28, following an agreement with the defendants to have the matter struck out.
After hearing submissions from Adegbe and defence lawyers, presiding judge Mohammed Umar dismissed the case accordingly.