Business
Court awards N82bn damages against Mobil, NNPC over oil spills
A federal high court in Abuja has ordered Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to pay N81.9bn as damages to communities in Ibeno LGA of Akwa Ibom State over oil spillage.
The court awarded the sum of N42.8bn as damages for intangible losses, N21.9bn for special damages as annotated and N10bn as general damages.
Delivering the judgment on Monday, the judge, Taiwo Taiwo, said the companies must make payment to the communities within 14 days.
The suit was instituted against the two defendants by the aggrieved oil-producing communities led by Obong Effiong Archianga and nine others through their lawyers, Lucius Nwosu.
They had sought about N100 billion compensation for economic losses suffered from oil spillages caused by the defendants during exploration, NAN quoted court papers.
The judge held that the negligence of Mobil and NNPC caused environmental degradation in the communities.
He said NNPC is only interested in the revenue generations from the oil exploration at the expense of the people’s lives in the communities.
Taiwo said that he believed the oral and documentary evidence adduced by the plaintiffs to support their claims that lives were made miserable for them when their water and land were polluted through crude oil leakages from old oil pipelines.
He noted the claims of Mobil that it did clean up exercise and held that the oil giant failed to address the compensation that would have mitigated the economic losses of the people said to be mainly fishermen and farmers.
The judge also described witnesses called by Mobil as unreliable, adding that for no reason they became evasive during cross-examination by counsel to the plaintiffs.
He held that the oral and documentary evidence produced by Mobil Company were not in any way helpful to the court as they were targeted at serving predetermined interest.
The judge further said that some of the witnesses ought not to have come to the court at all going by the discrepancies in the documents brought to the court, adding that they only embarked on guess research that was not reliable.
He further held that both Mobil and NNPC were negligent by their failure to visit places of the leakages of the crude oil that led to the contamination of rivers and creeks.
The judge rejected the claims of the Mobil joint venture partner, NNPC, that the suit was statute-barred in 2012 when the aggrieved plaintiffs filed it.
The NNPC had claimed that the suit was not filed within 12 months by the plaintiffs as required by the provision of Section 12, Sub Section 1 of the NNPC Act, 2004.
However, the judge held that the instant suit had to do with fundamental rights that cannot be rendered impotent by the statute of limitations.
He stated further that Section 11, Subsection 5 of the Oil Pipeline Act made it mandatory for oil companies to monitor and repair their pipelines to avoid spillages and environmental degradation.
Railway
Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC
Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed that the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) trains are included in the Federal Government’s free train ride initiative for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The LRMT, which currently includes the Phase 1 Blue Line Rail and the Phase 1 of the Red Line Rail, operates under the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
This announcement was made by Ben Iloanusi, the Acting Managing Director of the NRC, during an interview on NTA News TV on Friday, following the launch of the initiative earlier that day.
While Iloanusi stated that Phase 1 of both the Blue Line and Red Line Rail projects are part of the program, LAMATA has yet to confirm this inclusion.
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Iloanusi outlined the other routes benefiting from the scheme, which include the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit in Lagos. Notably, little was previously known about the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit service until this disclosure.
“Let me mention the routes where this free train service is happening. We have the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, we have the Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, we have the Warri-Itakpe Train Service, we have the Lagos Rail Mass Transit trains, we have the Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and we have what we call the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit, which is also in Lagos,” he stated.
Iloanusi provided operational updates, stating that passengers nationwide can access free tickets online or, for those unable to do so, at train stations where they will be profiled and validated.
He noted that passengers using NRC-managed services (excluding the Lagos Rail Mass Transit) should reserve tickets via the official website, www.nrc.gov.ng, with a valid ID required. He also advised travelers to plan, arrive on time, and bring valid identification.
Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC
Business
NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown
NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has denied claims in media reports that the newly refurbished Port Harcourt refinery has shut down.
The national oil company denied the claim in a press release issued by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Saturday.
Soneye said the claim was false and urged Nigerians to disregard it. He stressed that the Port-Harcourt Refinery is fully operational.
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The statement read, “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.
“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”
He noted that preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing, and added that claims of the shutdown are “figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”
NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown
Business
CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM
CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary permission to purchase up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (FX) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary permission to purchase up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (FX) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
This move, detailed in a circular dated December 19, 2024, is designed to meet seasonal retail demand for FX during the holiday period.
The circular was signed by T.G. Allu, on behalf of the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department.
The arrangement will be in effect from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.
Under the directive, BDCs may purchase FX from a single Authorized Dealer of their choice, provided they fully fund their accounts before accessing the market.
Transactions to occur at the prevailing NFEM rate
The transactions will occur at the prevailing NFEM rate, and BDCs are required to adhere to a maximum 1% spread when pricing FX for retail end-users.
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All transactions conducted under this scheme must be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.
The circular read in part:
“In order to meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing a temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD 25,000.00 (Twenty-five thousand dollars only).
This window will be open between December 19, 2024 to January 30, 2025.
“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one Authorized Dealer of their choice and will be required to fully fund their account before accessing the market at the prevailing NFEM rate. All transactions with BDCs should be reported to the Trade and Exchange department, and a maximum spread of 1% is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users.”
The CBN assured the general public that PTA (Personal Travel Allowance) and BTA (Business Travel Allowance) remain available through banks for legitimate travel and business needs.”
These transactions are to be conducted at “market-determined exchange rates” within the NFEM framework.
This initiative reflects the CBN’s strategy to stabilize the FX market and manage seasonal surges in demand.
CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM
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