Malabu Oil OPL 245 Suit as the firm challenges FG over conversion of OPL 245 to OML 245 and seeks ₦1 trillion in damages

Malabu Oil & Gas Limited has filed a ₦1 trillion lawsuit against the Federal Government of Nigeria, challenging the conversion of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 into Oil Mining Lease (OML) 245 and seeking to quash the decision at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

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The suit, filed through senior advocate Reuben Atabo, SAN, is before Justice Mohammed Umar and lists President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Petroleum Resources as first to third respondents.

In the motion dated May 25, 2026, Malabu Oil argued that the conversion and restructuring of OPL 245 were carried out while multiple cases concerning the disputed oil block were still pending before various courts up to the Supreme Court.

The company is asking the court for a declaration that the splitting of OPL 245 into four separate assets, reportedly allocated to Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration Company Limited and NNPC Limited under a resolution agreement, is unlawful and void.

Malabu Oil is also demanding ₦1 trillion in damages, claiming unlawful interference with its interests and alleging that the actions exceeded the limits of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.

Justice Umar has fixed June 11, 2026, for hearing of the matter after previously granting leave for judicial review of the federal government’s executive action.

The dispute over OPL 245 remains one of Nigeria’s most protracted oil sector controversies, involving allegations of corruption, international litigation and competing ownership claims stretching back decades.

The oil block, originally awarded to Malabu Oil in 1998, was later acquired by Shell and Eni in a transaction valued at about $1.3 billion, which triggered years of legal and political disputes across multiple jurisdictions.

Although an Italian court acquitted Shell, Eni and associated executives of wrongdoing in 2021, the asset has continued to face legal challenges in Nigeria.

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The federal government has maintained that recent restructuring of the asset is part of efforts to resolve long-standing disputes and bring the oil field into production.