In a bid to pave the way for the finalization of the $1.28bn sale of assets of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has filed a motion in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja to discontinue lawsuit against the deal.
NNPC’s legal counsel, Afe Babalola & Co., presented the motion marked FCT/HC/BW/173/2022) requesting the court’s permission to withdraw the suit and strike it off the court’s cause list, with a provision to relist the case if the settlement process fails.
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In the motion, NNPC Ltd requested the court to grant leave for discontinuance and to strike out the case, with the provision to relist it should the settlement process fail.
“The applicant humbly urges Your Lordship to grant leave to discontinue this suit and consequently strike it off the court’s cause list,” the motion states. “Granting this application aligns with the policy of this Honourable Court and facilitates the finalization of the settlement process.”
It would be recalled that the NNPC filed the suit challenging ExxonMobil’s deal with Seplat on 5th July 2022 but on the 3rd of August 2022, the court referred the parties to arbitration.
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However, the parties recently decided to settle their dispute out of court and arbitration, adding that without prejudice to the rights of the parties, they duly executed a Settlement Agreement.
According to the senior lawyer, in the Settlement Agreement, one condition for settling the dispute was that the NNPC would withdraw the suit to enable the parties to finalize the settlement process.
“In line with the agreement between the parties, the Applicant is discontinuing this suit (Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/173/2022) against the Defendants/Respondents.
“Granting this application is the only way through which the suit may be discontinued appropriately and struck out,” he submitted.
In his affidavit in support of the motion, deposed to by Isaika Popoola, a litigation manager at Afe Babalola & Co., he detailed the history of the case, the arbitration process, and the terms of the Settlement Agreement.
Popoola noted that the parties had held several meetings to resolve the dispute concerning the divestment of MPNU shares to Seplat.
The agreement includes clauses to align the interests of all parties involved and finalize the transaction.
