A High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit filed by an NGO, Trust Field Empowerment Initiatives, against the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.

The group had sought to force the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to prosecute Komolafe within 30 days over alleged irregularities in awarding oil blocks and setting signature bonuses. The AGF and NUPRC were also named as co-defendants.

But the defendants argued that the FCT High Court lacked the legal authority to hear the case, pointing to constitutional limits on its jurisdiction. Their legal team, led by senior lawyers including Kehinde Ogunwumiju and Chiesonu Okpoko, also asked the court to award N100 million in damages, claiming the lawsuit was meant to embarrass and intimidate the NUPRC boss.

In his ruling on July 18, Justice H. Muazu agreed with the defence and struck out the case, ruling the court had no jurisdiction. He also ordered the NGO to pay N3 million each to Komolafe, the AGF, and NUPRC—bringing the total cost to N9 million.