The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has moved to end its current legal action against subsidiaries of Mobil Nigeria and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The motion, which was submitted on June 11, 2024, is a component of a larger endeavour to complete a settlement deal that involves giving Seplat Energy Offshore Limited a 100% stake in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, according to Nairametrics.
The court submitted the original lawsuit, which was filed on July 5, 2022, to arbitration on August 3, 2022. Nonetheless, recent discussions resulted in the choice to resolve the conflict outside of court.
The motion states that NNPC must abandon the lawsuit to satisfy a requirement outlined in the Settlement Agreement to expedite the settlement.
Isaika Popoola, a litigation manager at Afe Babalola & Co., went into depth on the arbitration procedure, the terms of the settlement agreement, and the case history in his affidavit.
Popoola pointed out that in order to settle the disagreement over the selling of MPNU shares to Seplat, the parties had convened multiple times.
The agreement includes clauses to align the interests of all parties involved and finalize the transaction.
the motion highlights the court’s role in encouraging dispute resolution through arbitration, conciliation, and mediation, in line with Order 19 Rule 1 of the High Court’s rules.
The legal team representing NNPC stressed that the application complies with Order 24 of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Civil Procedure Rules 2018 and that the discontinuance is necessary to finish the settlement process.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Adama v. Maigari (2019), which permits the relisting of a dismissed lawsuit if an out-of-court settlement is unsuccessful, is one of the legal precedents mentioned in the motion. This guarantees that if the settlement cannot be reached satisfactorily, NNPC will have the option to pursue legal action.
“The applicant humbly urges Your Lordship to grant leave to discontinue this suit and consequently strike it off the court’s cause list,”
“Granting this application aligns with the policy of this Honourable Court and facilitates the finalization of the settlement process.” the motion states.
The legal representative for NNPC contends that the cessation serves justice and encourages a speedy resolution without prolonged litigation.
The motion also requests the court to strike out the suit without costs, underscoring the parties’ commitment to an amicable settlement.
The move is currently before the court, and if approved, it would be a big step toward settling the long-running conflict between NNPC, the Mobil subsidiaries, and NUPRC. This would free up the parties’ time to concentrate on completing the settlement and the divestiture deal.
