The Federal High Court, Abuja division has dismissed the preliminary objection filed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to challenge the competence of a suit filed against it by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (Dangote Refinery).

Dangote is seeking to void the licences issued by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to some oil marketing companies to import refined petroleum products.

Ruling on the application, Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed NNPCL’s objection as incompetent, stating it was filed in violation of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019.

The NNPCL, had in the preliminary objection, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit brought against  it by Dangote.

The oil company urged the court to strike out its name from the suit on the grounds that it was not properly identified by the plaintiff.

Specifically, the NNPCL contended that its name, “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,” is what was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), whereas the entity sued by Dangote was the the “Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation”.

In dismissing the application, Justice Ekwo held that NNPCL’s objection was incompetent and was filed in violation of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019.

The judge also reasoned that the NNPCL ought to have entered its defense in the form of a counter-affidavit to the plaintiff’s suit before raising an objection.

The judge declared that under the procedure in lieu of demurrer, any party is entitled to raise, by his pleading, any point of law, and that any point so raised may be disposed of by the trial court at trial or after the trial.

Justice Ekwo stated that where a defendant seeks to challenge the jurisdiction of the court, it is the provision of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019, that would be applicable. The Judge noted that the NNPCL failed to comply with the provision.

Justice Ekwo therefore held that the NNPCL, having not complied with the provisions of the FHCCPR 2019, could not be said to have filed a competent preliminary objection.