The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd over the controversial Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, siding with Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC) in the long-running legal dispute over the $1.3 billion offshore oilfield.
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In a judgment delivered on May 23, 2025, a three-member panel led by Justice H. A. Barka overturned a 2020 decision of the Federal High Court, which had dismissed Agip’s preliminary objection. The appellate court held that Malabu’s suit constituted an “abuse of court process” and was statute-barred.
“Once a stipulated period has elapsed, the case is statute-barred,” Justice Barka said. “Malabu, having failed to commence the suit within the time prescribed by law, cannot sustain the action.”
OPL 245, a deep-water oilfield located about 150 km offshore from the Niger Delta, was originally awarded to Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd in 1998. The allocation was revoked in 2001 by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who reassigned the block to Shell without a public bid. Malabu later regained ownership in 2006 via an out-of-court settlement.
In 2011, the Federal Government entered into a Block 245 Resolution Agreement, leading to the reallocation of the oilfield to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd and Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, under the Petroleum Act.
Malabu subsequently challenged the legality of the reallocation and filed a suit at the Federal High Court, asserting that its rights to the block were still valid. The company sought the nullification of the government’s actions and the reassignment of OPL 245 to Agip and Shell.
Agip’s legal team, led by Babatunde Fagbohunlu, SAN, filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit was both time-barred and duplicative, as Malabu had an existing matter on similar issues before another court (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/206/2017).
On December 22, 2020, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court dismissed Agip’s objections, prompting the oil company to seek redress at the Appeal Court.
In the appeal, Agip contended that the trial court failed to address key issues in its ruling, including arguments on fair hearing, abuse of process, and statute limitations.
Malabu’s counsel, Dr. Reuben Atabo, SAN, countered that no fair hearing violations occurred and that the trial court had heard all preliminary objections together and ruled accordingly.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Barka noted that the Federal High Court had struck out Agip’s objection without resolving the substantive legal issues raised.
“The key issues highlighted by Agip were not pronounced upon or resolved by the lower court,” the judge held.
The appellate court therefore ruled that the failure to consider these arguments breached Agip’s right to a fair hearing and constituted a judicial oversight. The court allowed Agip’s appeal, set aside the trial court’s decision, and dismissed Malabu’s suit.
The ruling is the latest development in a highly scrutinized global case. In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion to Malabu and an additional $210 million as a signature bonus to the Nigerian government to acquire OPL 245. However, the deal was marred by allegations of bribery and corruption involving high-ranking Nigerian officials.
In October 2024, two Italian prosecutors were convicted for mishandling evidence that could have supported Eni in the international corruption trial related to the deal.
In a more recent development, Oando PLC announced in August 2024 that it had acquired Nigerian Agip Oil Company from Eni in a $783 million deal, consolidating its interest in key Nigerian oil assets, including OPL 245.
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