Matrix Energy Limited Sues Media Outlets for N20 Billion Over Defamation Claims

Matrix Energy Limited, a Nigerian energy business, has filed lawsuits in the Federal Capital Territory High Court, seeking 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.

In the lawsuit brought by their attorney, Ahmed Raji, SAN, the plaintiffs are pleading with the court for an order prohibiting the two media outlets from releasing any more defamatory articles about them. The business and its CEO are suing the two media outlets for N10 billion in damages each, plus an additional N200 million to cover legal fees.

According to the lawsuit with file number CV/3718/2024, the report titled "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.

The plaintiffs refuted the accusation and requested a court declaration stating that the publications made by the defendants on August 17, 2024, were malicious, false, defamatory, and libelous. Additionally, they requested an order requiring the defendants to immediately and completely retract any libelous or defamatory statements found in their publications and 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. In addition to seeking N10 billion in damages from the court, the plaintiffs requested a perpetual injunction to prevent the defendants from publishing any further defamatory statements or stories about them.

The plaintiffs informed the court that the defendants' reports, which they described as written "deliberately, carelessly, intentionally, and maliciously," portrayed them as working with Nigeria's economic adversaries to bring in contaminated, inferior, or low-quality petroleum products.

It is worth noting that Matrix Oil Limited had previously refuted claims tying it to the smuggling of petrol from Malta into Nigeria in a statement provided by its spokesperson, Ibrahim Akinola.