By Correspondent in Abuja.
Malabu Oil & Gas Limited has approached the Supreme Court, seeking leave to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which was delivered in favour of Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited.
In a motion on notice marked SC/ML/356/2025, filed by its counsel, Reuben Atabo, SAN, Malabu is praying for an order extending the time within which it may seek leave to appeal the appellate court’s May 23, 2025 judgment.
The company is also asking for an extension of time to file its notice and grounds of appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/53/2021 – Nigerian Agip Ltd vs. Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd and five others, among other reliefs.
According to court documents, Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources are listed as the 1st to 3rd respondents, while Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Ltd, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd, and Chief Dan Etete are named as the 4th to 6th respondents respectively.
Atabo explained that Agip had earlier appealed an interlocutory ruling of the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, delivered on December 22, 2020, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/201/2012 – Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd vs. Federal Government of Nigeria & six others.
He said the Court of Appeal, in its May 23 judgment, dismissed Malabu’s preliminary objection, upheld Agip’s appeal, and overturned the trial court’s ruling, holding that Malabu’s mode of commencing the suit was defective. The appellate court subsequently dismissed Malabu’s substantive case before the Federal High Court.
Atabo noted that Malabu filed an application on June 4 at the Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal on grounds of mixed law and facts, and to raise fresh issues, but the time allowed by the court’s rules had already lapsed before the application could be heard.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Abacha, a director of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, stated that the certified true copy of the judgment was not released to the company until June 4, due to a judicial staff strike between June 2 and 3, 2025.
He explained that the company had 14 days within which to seek leave to appeal, but by the time the court fixed a hearing date, the period allowed by the rules had expired.
Abacha stressed that the delay was not deliberate, adding that Malabu remains aggrieved by the appellate court’s decision and is determined to pursue its appeal at the Supreme Court.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
