The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday reinstated Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The court has therefore overturned his removal by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 17, 2023.
According to the Punch, Ararume had filed a lawsuit against Buhari, arguing that his removal was illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional, and a violation of the CAMA law under which the NNPCL was incorporated.
He also demanded N100 billion in compensation for national and international damages.
In his ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo declared Ararume’s removal null and void and awarded N5 billion in damages against Buhari and the NNPCL for disrupting Ararume’s appointment.
The judge ordered Ararume’s immediate reinstatement and declared all decisions made by the NNPCL Board of Directors in his absence null and void.
Justice Ekwo held that Buhari acted ultra vires, wrongfully, illegally, and null and void, using Ararume’s name to register the NNPCL, and that such an act could not stand in the face of the law.
