A faction of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government over the restructuring of the controversial OPL 245 oil block, seeking N1 trillion in damages and asking the court to nullify the recent asset split tied to the licence.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, names President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Petroleum Resources as defendants.
According to court filings, the company is challenging the federal government’s decision to divide Oil Prospecting Licence 245 into four separate assets and allocate them to subsidiaries linked to Shell, Agip and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited under an agreement reached earlier this year.
Malabu argued that the restructuring was carried out despite several unresolved legal disputes surrounding the oil block, some of which are still before Nigerian courts. The company also claimed that the arrangement was implemented without the approval of its directors and shareholders.
The plaintiff asked the court to declare the conversion of OPL 245 into Oil Mining Lease 245 unlawful and to reverse the allocations made under the March settlement agreement.
In addition to seeking the cancellation of the deal, Malabu requested N1 trillion in compensation for what it described as unlawful interference with its interests in the block and alleged violations of provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
Justice Mohammed Umar fixed June 11 for the hearing of the case after earlier granting the company permission to seek judicial review of the government’s actions.
The dispute emerged less than three months after the Tinubu administration announced it had resolved the decades-long controversy surrounding OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s largest deepwater oil assets. The presidency said the agreement could unlock major investments and potentially increase Nigeria’s crude oil production by about 150,000 barrels per day.
OPL 245 has remained one of the country’s most disputed oil assets since it was first awarded to Malabu Oil & Gas in 1998 during the administration of former military ruler Sani Abacha.
The block later became the subject of multiple legal battles involving multinational oil companies, Nigerian officials and foreign prosecutors. In 2011, Shell and Italian energy firm Eni reached a settlement with the Nigerian government and Malabu in a deal reportedly worth over $1 billion.
That transaction later triggered corruption investigations in several countries, including Italy, where prosecutors alleged that large portions of the payment were diverted to politically connected individuals and middlemen. However, executives of both companies were acquitted by an Italian court in 2021.
Former Attorney-General Mohammed Bello Adoke, who played a key role in negotiating the 2011 settlement, also faced corruption and money laundering charges in Nigeria before being cleared by the courts.
The latest suit is expected to reopen debate over the ownership and management of the high-profile oil block, which has been tied to nearly three decades of political and legal disputes.
