Breaking: Supreme Court Ends 29-Year Legal Battle, Voids N1.4bn Award Against Mobil

The Supreme Court has brought to a close a 29-year legal dispute by dismissing an appeal challenging the jurisdictional ruling of the Court of Appeal, Calabar Division, and striking out a compensation suit against Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited over alleged community land acquisition in Akwa Ibom State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, January 30, 2026, the apex court held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain claims relating to land disputes and compensation arising from compulsory acquisition and unexhausted improvements.

The court ruled that such matters fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of State High Courts under the Land Use Act.
The appeal arose from a suit filed in 1997 at the Federal High Court, Uyo Judicial Division, by His Royal Highness, Obong David Edu, and 132 others on behalf of the Ekid people of Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas. The defendants were Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (now Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the Government of Akwa Ibom State.
The claimants sought compensation for community land allegedly compulsorily acquired by the state government, demanding N379,988,000, with interest from July 30, 1997, for the acquisition and alleged unexhausted improvements on the land.
In March 2014, the Federal High Court ruled in favour of the claimants, awarding the full sum with interest at 10 per cent per annum from April 8, 1998, until liquidation—an amount which, over time, rose to about N1.4 billion.
Mobil appealed the decision, and on July 13, 2018, the Court of Appeal, Calabar Division, unanimously set aside the judgment, holding that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over land-related compensation claims.
Unconvinced, the claimants proceeded to the Supreme Court. However, the apex court upheld the arguments of Mobil’s counsel, Ituah Imhanze Esq of Kenna Partners, and dismissed the appeal in its entirety, reaffirming established jurisprudence that compensation claims arising from compulsory land acquisition are reserved for State High Courts.
The decision effectively restores the judgment of the Court of Appeal and nullifies the earlier award made by the Federal High Court.
Dr. Okiemute Akpomudge of Albert Akpomudge, SAN & Co represented the NNPC, while J. Jerome Akpan Esq appeared for the Government of Akwa Ibom State. The appellants were represented by Ekom Nwoko Esq of Kanu G. Agabi and Associates.
With this ruling, the Supreme Court has finally ended a protracted dispute that spanned nearly three decades and traversed three tiers of court, while firmly reinforcing the constitutional and statutory boundaries of judicial jurisdiction in land and compensation matters.