The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE is facing legal proceedings before the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations of unlawfully detaining a vessel, MT Stena Sunshine.
Presiding judge, Justice Akintayo Aluko, has granted an interim order directing Dangote Petroleum Refinery to release the vessel from any detention or arrest, following the presentation of a Letter of Undertaking (LoU) issued by the GARD Protection and Indemnity Club.
The letter is to secure any verifiable claims by the refinery, up to the value of $200,000.
The court also ruled that the “letter of undertaking must be in the sum of $300,000, as indicated in the applicants’ correspondence dated 8 April 2025.”
In addition, the applicants — the vessel Stena Sunshine and its owners — were directed to formally file the letter of undertaking before the court.
In his ruling, Justice Aluko stated that while the application had merit, not all the reliefs sought could be granted at this stage.
According to the judge, “Relief one cannot be granted at this stage because it touches on relief (e) in the substantive suit. Relief two is grantable on the strength of the evidence before the court.
“Accordingly, it is hereby ordered as follows: that relief one is refused. That relief two is hereby granted. That the LoU shall be in the sum of $300,000 USD, as shown in the applicants’ letter of undertaking dated April 8, 2025. That the letter of undertaking shall be formally filed before the court.”
However, the court declined to grant the applicants’ prayer seeking to restrain Dangote Refinery’s personnel, agents, or affiliates from harassing, arresting, or detaining them, or from taking any steps that could interfere with their fundamental rights to liberty and property in relation to an incident said to have occurred on 14 March 2025.
The matter was adjourned to 27 May 2025 for hearing of the substantive suit.
The applicants, in their motion dated 26 March 2025, asked the court for several reliefs including an order restraining the respondents from any act that might jeopardise their rights or threaten to arrest or detain them.
They also requested the release of the vessel on provision of the GARD Club’s undertaking, as well as substituted service of court documents through courier addressed to the respondent’s Chief Operating Officer.
In support of the application, the applicants filed a 14-paragraph affidavit and listed 19 grounds for their requests.
Dangote Refinery and other respondents filed an 11-paragraph affidavit in opposition, stating reasons the court should not grant the reliefs.
Following review, Justice Aluko concluded that partial merit existed in the application and ruled accordingly.
