Matrix Energy Limited has filed a lawsuit against two media houses, seeking N20 billion in damages over reports linking the company to the alleged importation of low-grade fuel from Malta to Nigeria.
The company and its CEO, Alhaji Abdulkadir Adisa Aliu, deny the allegations, describing them as libelous and defamatory.
In the suit filed at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, with suit number FCT/HC/CV/2024/1234, Matrix Energy seeks an order restraining the media houses from further publishing libelous reports against them.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court to compel the defendants to delete or retract the libelous publications, issue an unreserved apology, and pay N10 billion each in damages.
Additionally, they are seeking N200 million for the cost of filing the suit.
The suit was filed by Matrix Energy's counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, who described the allegations as false, malicious, and calculated to damage the reputation of Matrix Energy and its CEO.
"The reports published by the defendants deliberately, carelessly, intentionally, and maliciously portrayed Matrix Energy Limited as conniving with economic enemies of Nigeria to import adulterated, substandard, and low-quality petroleum products into the country," the plaintiffs claimed.
The reports in question, published on August 17, 2024, alleged that Matrix Energy had been importing substandard petroleum products from Malta, a country with no known oil refineries.
The company has consistently denied these allegations. Matrix Energy's spokesman, Ibrahim Akinola, had earlier denied the reports, stating that the company had not imported any fuel from Malta.
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