Court Restrains Oil Workers From Cutting Gas Supply To Dangote Refinery

Justice Emmanuel Danjuma Subilim of the National Industrial Court successful Abuja has stopped the Petroleum, Natural Gas Workers Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) from embarking connected its planned concern enactment against Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.

The court, successful a ruling connected an ex parte exertion by Dangote Refinery oyesterday, stopped the defendants, which included Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, from cutting crude and state proviso to Dangote Refinery.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, George Ibrahim, from Ogwu James Onoja instrumentality steadfast successful Abuja, argued the exertion and secured the bid against the defendants.

The elder lawyer successful the ex parte question applied for an bid of interim injunction restraining the 1st Defendant its members, agents, servants, privies, representatives, assigns oregon whatsoever and howsoever called from calling oregon directing the halt of crude and Gas proviso to the Claimant nether immoderate guise and oregon embarking connected immoderate concern enactment against the Claimant with a presumption to crippling, blocking roads oregon obstructing the travel of vehicular movement, shutting down operations of the Claimant oregon licensees of the 2nd to 4th Defendants named successful the 1st Defendant Directives dated September 26, 2025 oregon by immoderate means frustrating the businesses/activities of the Claimant/Applicant pending the proceeding and determination of the Motion connected notice.

“An bid of interim injunction restraining the 2nd – 4th Defendants, their employees, members, agents, servants, privies, representatives, licensees, assigns oregon whatsoever and howsoever called from giving effect to the directives of the 1st Defendant to halt the proviso of crude and state to the Claimant oregon joining, continuing, embarking on, oregon successful immoderate mode participating successful the planned concern enactment of the 1st Defendant and its affiliates and cronies oregon immoderate different onslaught whatsoever against the Claimant/Applicant with a presumption to frustrating her businesses and operations pending the proceeding and determination of the Motion connected Notice.

He said that successful caller times, determination person been incidents of sabotage by immoderate employees of the Claimant astatine the Claimant’s plant, which person raised sedate wellness concerns and threatened the information of quality lives.

According to him, the absorption of the Claimant came to an irresistible decision that determination should beryllium re-organisation successful the plant, which led to the relieving of immoderate of its unit of their employment, and the aforesaid was communicated to each unit by a memo oregon circular dated 25th September, 2025.

“The 1st Defendant issued a property connection connected the 26th time of September, 2025, wherein it erroneously referred to the laying disconnected of the workers by the Claimant arsenic anti-labour practices, alleging that the workers were being victimised due to the fact that they joined the 1st Defendant arsenic members of the union, which is not correct.

“Irrespective of the mentation offered by the Claimant successful Exhibit DR3, the 1st Defendant became much provoked and directed its Executives and Members to the licensees of the 2nd – 4th Defendants done whom the Claimant accesses crude and state for its works to halt supplying state to the Claimant.

“The 2nd – 4th Defendants are connected standby to transportation retired the directives of the 1st Defendant done their agents and licensees arsenic mentioned successful Exhibit DR6 with a presumption to stopping the proviso of state and crude lipid to the Claimant to halt its concern and cognition arsenic threatened unless the Honourable Court intervenes.

“The 1st Defendant is going to marque bully its menace to unopen down operations of the Claimant, knowing the spot of its rank crossed the country, unless the Honourable Court intervenes.

“The Claimant’s works was constructed with implicit 20 Billion US Dollars by its promoters to lick the vigor occupation of Nigeria that has been lingering for decades and has been sailing with bully results to user restitution and person been making important publication to the system of Nigeria, but the 1st Defendant if allowed to marque bully its menace volition undoubtedly plunge Nigeria into the acheronian days of vigor dearth and situation and again, jeopardise the livelihood of the Nigeria’s extremity users and consumers and negatively interaction connected the economy.

“The 1st Defendant, its members and protegees successful the services of the 2nd – 4th Defendants person perfected plans to embark connected an concern enactment which volition cripple the operations and services of the Claimant to the Nigerian nationalist arsenic good arsenic the economy.

“The 1st Defendant has not engaged the Claimant with respect to a dispute, if any, earlier championing and calling for an concern enactment against the Claimant contrary to the extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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