By Sunday Ani
The Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) have secured a landmark judgment on oil mining leases formerly operated by ADDAX, as a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, struck out a suit by Kaztec Engineering Ltd, challenging the NNPCL’s statutory concession for OMLs 123, 124, 126, and 137.
The court presided over by Justice N.E. Maha, gave the decision, describing the lawsuit as incompetent.
Kaztec Limited had instituted the suit against the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the NNPCL, and others, seeking a declaration that the review of the award of OMLs 123, 124, 126, and 137, which was, as far back as 2002, awarded to NNPCL, was wrong.
In its judgment, the court held that the plaintiff’s case lacked merit, primarily due to its failure to fulfill the essential requirement of paying the signature bonus.
According to the ruling, the bonus, being a condition precedent to the award of OMLs 123, 124, 126, and 137, rendered Kaztec’s suit frivolous in law.
The court also held that the plaintiff failed to join necessary parties to the suit, and that led to the court’s determination that the entire legal action by Kaztec Engineering Ltd constituted an abuse of the court process.
“Kaztec’s suit is hereby unequivocally struck out for being incompetent,” Justice Maha declared.
Earlier, counsel to the NNPCL, Mr Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) from Afe Babalola and Co, and other defendants, had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to determine the suit.
While objecting to the suit, the defendants maintained that it lacked a cause of action, since Kaztec did not pay the required signature bonuses for the OMLs.