Court dismisses suit against Petroleum Minister, NUPRC, AGF over oil fields dispute
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) and two others, challenging the proposed allocation of four oil
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) and two others, challenging the proposed allocation of four oil fields.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2678/2025, was filed by Hi-Rev Oil Limited and Hi-Rev Exploration and Production Ltd The defendants listed were the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Petroleum Minister.
Ruling on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite upheld the defendants' preliminary objections and held that the suit was incompetent.
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Justice Nwite further held that the plaintiffs failed to serve the defendants with a valid pre-action notice, as required by Section 308 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021. This failure deprived the court of the necessary jurisdiction to hear the suit.
He said a valid pre-action notice would notify the defendants of the plaintiffs' grievances, the intention to seek legal redress within a specified time, and the declaratory relief sought, among other things.
Justice Nwite said the plaintiffs' letter, which they claimed to have served on the defendants before filing the suit, did not meet the required standard, adding that it fell short of the statutory prescriptions for a legal notice.
Justice Nwite upheld the Petroleum Minister's argument that the plaintiffs failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action in the suit.
The plaintiffs prayed the court, among other things, to restrain the defendants or whoever is acting on their behest from selling, assigning, or allocating the Yorla South (Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) 2A32 – OML 11) located in Rivers.
They also sought to restrain the defendants from allocating Akiapiri (PPL 2A48 – OML 25) located in Bayelsa; Diebu Creek East (OML 32) also located in Bayelsa; and Idiok (PPL 2A41 – OML 67) located in Akwa Ibom, “same being direct replacements for Utapate Oil Field (formerly part of OML 13) and OPL 2002, previously allocated to the plaintiffs, but was later withdrawn by the defendants.”
