Federal Court Upholds Tantita Security and NNPCL Pipeline Deal

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of AGIP Indigenous Contractors Association and 43 others, who challenged the award of a pipeline surveillance contract by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Delivering the judgment, Justice Mohammed Umar held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi and had failed to demonstrate any legal interest in the matter. He further noted that the suit disclosed no reasonable cause of action, striking it out entirely.

The contractors had claimed that NNPCL and its former Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, unlawfully awarded the pipeline surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services Limited, a company owned by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo. They alleged that indigenous operators were not given a fair opportunity to bid, contrary to the Nigeria Oil and Gas Content Development Act 2010.

NNPCL, however, dismissed the claims as unfounded, insisting that the awarded firms, including Tantita, had proven effective in combating oil theft. The company cited increased crude production, interception of illegal vessels, and dismantling of illicit connections as evidence of their performance.

Justice Umar described the plaintiffs as “meddlesome interlopers and busybodies” who failed to show any personal stake in the matter, ruling the case inadmissible due to lack of locus standi and absence of a valid cause of action.

Tantita Security Services and other contracted security outfits were engaged to protect critical oil infrastructure. Operations under the arrangement in 2024 led to notable successes, including the arrest of a tugboat carrying illegally refined diesel off Rivers State in April. This incident was among 155 reported cases of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta within a single week, with Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa states recording 38 arrests for alleged sabotage.