Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on Tuesday withdrew its lawsuit against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and five other petroleum companies.

The case, filed at the Federal High Court Abuja, was formally withdrawn by the plaintiff’s legal team.

According to a notice of discontinuance filed before the court, Dangote Refinery resolved to end the proceedings against all seven defendants, including AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.

In the notice, no official reason was given for its decision to discontinue the case. Details of the decision, including the reliefs sought and whether an out-of-court settlement was reached, remain unclear.

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In the suit, Dangote Refinery had requested the court to award ₦100 billion in damages against the NMDPRA for issuing import licenses to some marketers and allowing the importation of petroleum products.

The marketers are NNPC Ltd, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, and 2015 Petroleum Limited.

The plaintiff asked the court to declare that NMDPRA is allegedly in violation of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products.

The Dangote Refinery said such licenses should only be issued when a petroleum product shortfall exists. The refinery also urged the court to declare that NMDPRA violates its statutory responsibilities under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for not encouraging local refineries such as Dangote Refinery.