Matrix Energy Limited, a Nigerian energy business, has filed lawsuits in the Federal Capital Territory High Court, requesting N20 billion in damages due to allegations that it was involved in the importation of low-grade fuel from Malta into Nigeria.
The reports released by two media outlets were deemed defamatory by the corporation and its CEO, Alhaji Abdulkadir Adisa Aliu, who are the plaintiffs in the cases with the case numbers CV/3718/2024 and CV/3719/2024.
The plaintiffs are pleading with the court for an order prohibiting the two media outlets from releasing any more defamatory articles about them in a lawsuit that was brought by their attorney, Ahmed Raji, SAN.
The business and its CEO are suing the two media outlets for N10 billion in damages apiece, plus an extra N200 million to cover legal fees.
The report, “From Russia to Malta: How Matrix Energy imports dirty petrol,” claimed that the oil corporation had been importing inferior petroleum products from Malta, a nation without known oil refineries, according to the lawsuit with the file number CV/3718/2024.
The plaintiffs refuted the accusation and requested a declaration from the court stating that the publications the defendants made on August 17, 2024, were malicious, false, defamatory, and libelous.
In addition, they requested an order requiring the defendants to immediately and completely retract any libelous or defamatory statements found in their publications, as well as an order requiring them to delete or cause to be deleted any such statements from their publications.
Similarly, the plaintiffs are requesting that the defendants issue an unconditional apology for the publications.
The plaintiffs requested a perpetual injunction to prevent the defendants from publishing any further defamatory statements or stories about them, in addition to seeking N10 billion in damages from the court.
The plaintiffs told the court that the defendants’ reports, which they said were written “deliberately, carelessly, intentionally and maliciously,” showed them working with Nigeria’s economic adversaries to bring in contaminated, inferior or low-quality petroleum products.
Recall that Matrix Oil Limited previously refuted claims tying it to the importation of gasoline from Malta into Nigeria in a statement provided by its spokesperson, Ibrahim Akinola.
