The Court of Appeal in Abuja, has overturned the ruling of the Federal High Court of April 2023 that annulled Senator Ifeanyi Araraume’s removal as non-executive Chairman of the NNPC Board and awarded him N5 billion in damages.
The Court of Appeal’s judgement of August 8, 2025, spared NNPC Ltd a massive financial payout and removes a legal risk that could have invalidated all decisions of the Board since 2021.
The Appeal Court agreed to NNPC Ltd.’s position that the Federal High Court’s earlier decision was delivered in error, noting amongst others, that the claim was statute- barred.
The national oil company, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the decision of the Court of Appeal secures governance stability for NNPC Ltd., sets a corporate governance precedent in Nigerian law, and upholds the validity of Board resolutions critical to the oil and gas industry’s investment and policy direction.
