A Federal Capital Territory High Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. Justice H. Muazu delivered the ruling on Friday, July 18, 2025, striking out the case brought by Trust Field Empowerment Initiatives, a non-governmental organisation that sought to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute Komolafe within 30 days over allegations related to oil block awards and signature bonuses.
The NGO, Registered Trustees of Trust Field Empowerment Initiatives, in the suit marked FCT/HC/GAR/CV/128/2025, levelled unsubstantiated allegations against the NUPRC boss in respect of the award of oil blocks and fixing of applicable signature bonuses.
It also sued the NUPRC and the HAGF, who are the third and first defendants, respectively.
However, in the respective preliminary objections filed by the three Defendants, counsel challenged the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court to hear and determine the subject matter based on Section 251(1a)(n)of the 1999 Constitution.
The constitution specifically confers jurisdiction on the Federal High Court to the exclusion of any other court in civil causes or matters relating to the revenue of the government of the federation.
The law further states that the Federal High Court reserves exclusive authority on civil causes or matters which pertains to mines and minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas.
The defendants represented by Mr Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), Mr Oladele Gbadeyan, and Chief Chiesonu Okpoko (SAN) representing the HAGF, Engineer Komolafe and the NUPRC respectively, sought an order awarding the sum of N100,000,000 (One hundred million naira) against the claimant as damages for filing “such a frivolous and vexatious suit to harass, intimidate and ridicule” the NUPRC boss.
In delivering his ruling on the objection, Justice H. Muazu agreed with the defence on the point of jurisdiction. He also awarded a cost of N3,000,000 each to the three Respondents against Trust Field Empowerment Initiatives for filing such a frivolous suit.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
