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Just within days of preventing a calamitous upset in the Nigerian Mining sector by securing a court victory in what is arguably Nigeria’s biggest mining legal tussle, Paul Usoro & Co (“PUC”) made another profound statement on Friday 14 January 2022 by recording a second tumultuous courtroom win, the echoes of which this time around, reverberated well beyond the shores of Nigeria right up to the offices of international oil giant, Exxon Mobil Corporation, in the United States of America.
In a Suit commenced by a Writ of Summons, Statement of Claim and other accompanying Processes dated 12 May 2017 (“Originating Processes”) and based on a fiat issued to them by the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State, the Registered Trustees of Mineral Resources Awareness Initiative of Akwa Ibom State and one other instituted Suit No: FHC/UY/CS/67/2017; Registered Trustees Of Mineral Resources Awareness Initiative Of Akwa Ibom State & Anor V. Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited & Anor at the Federal High Court, Uyo Judicial Division against Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (the 1st Defendant or MPNU) and Exxon Mobil Corporation, a foreign corporation resident in the United States of America (the 2nd Defendant or EMC). The 1st Plaintiff, a non-governmental organization claiming to act for the people of Akwa Ibom State was seeking an assortment of declaratory, executory and monetary reliefs, principal amongst which was for an order of Court compelling MPNU to relocate its head office from Lagos State to Akwa Ibom State. The Plaintiffs anchored this interesting relief on a document called the Standard of Business Conduct document published on EMC’s website which the Plaintiffs claim constitutes a contract between them on the one hand and MPNU and EMC on the other. The Plaintiffs assert that by the said standard of Business Conduct issued by the parent company EMC and binding on the subsidiary, MPNU, the said MPNU was obligated to locate its headquarters in Akwa Ibom State as against Lagos State because MPNU’s operations are in Akwa Ibom State.
The Plaintiffs also made a claim for the payment/remittance of accrued tax from 1987 till the date of Judgment for sums running into billions of dollars.