A Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has ordered the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to immediately implement the Host Communities Development Trust provisions under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), ruling that the commission has no legal authority to suspend or delay the process on the basis of any ongoing review of community listings.
Delivering judgment on May 6, 2026, Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa held that the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust Fund must be strictly based on the existing Federal Government Gazette that recognises coastal host communities along Nigeria’s littoral states.
The court also ruled that only the National Boundary Commission (NBC) is statutorily empowered to determine, delineate and define host communities for the purpose of implementing Chapter 3 of the Petroleum Industry Act.
It therefore restrained the NUPRC from withholding or delaying statutory benefits due to already recognised communities on the grounds that some communities were allegedly omitted from the gazetted list.
The case was filed by eight plaintiffs — Chief Joseph O. Wuruyai, Chief Matthew Pudie, Babajide Ololade Olokodana, Oladipupo Kehinde Jimoh, Chief Ayodele J. Busiga, Mathew Adebogun Badejo, Esubiyi Ifasanya Shuaibu, and Prefa Tariere Tokoni — against the National Boundary Commission, the NUPRC, and several representatives of affected coastal communities in Delta and Ondo States.
At the hearing, counsel to the plaintiffs, A.L. Onodjefemue and Augustine Akpojaro, appeared on the instruction of A. Alabi Lawal, SAN, while V.N. Ifeanyi represented the second defendant on the brief of Sunday Onubi. Prince Clem Omotoye appeared for the third to seventh defendants and also held brief for Ahmed Raji, SAN.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to interpret the statutory powers of the National Boundary Commission under Sections 7(c) and (f) of the National Boundary Commission (Establishment) Act, 2006, as well as Regulation 6(2)(a) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations, 2022.
They specifically sought a determination on whether the NBC Gazette identifying host communities within a 500-metre buffer along the coastlines of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, and Akwa Ibom States was binding on the NUPRC in implementing the Host Communities Development Trust Fund.
They also challenged the authority of the NUPRC to independently review or re-delineate host communities already identified and published in the official Gazette.
In his judgment, Justice Nganjiwa held that the relevant statutory provisions were clear and unambiguous, affirming that the National Boundary Commission, and not the NUPRC, has the legal mandate to delineate littoral host communities for the purpose of implementing the PIA.
The judge stated that the NUPRC had no power under the law to alter or override the delineation carried out by the NBC.
He noted that although the NUPRC acknowledged the existence of the NBC Gazette titled “Host Communities within 500 Metres of the Buffer along Coastlines of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta and Akwa Ibom States Regulations, 2024,” it argued that some communities in Bayelsa, Rivers, and parts of Delta State were excluded.
The commission had told the court it set up a committee to review complaints and was working with the NBC to amend the Gazette following petitions from affected communities.
However, the court rejected this position, holding that the Gazette remains valid, binding, and enforceable until lawfully amended or set aside by a competent authority.
Justice Nganjiwa ruled that the alleged omission of some communities could not be used as justification to suspend benefits for communities already recognised in the Gazette.
He added that excluded communities retain the right to seek inclusion through the National Boundary Commission, rather than halting implementation of existing legal instruments.
The court also held that the Gazette enjoys a presumption of validity under Section 168(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011, and cannot be disregarded without a proper legal process.
Relying on judicial precedents, including Amobi v. Ogidi Union Nigeria and Imade v. Military Administrator, Edo State, the court reaffirmed that official government publications are presumed valid unless successfully challenged.
Justice Nganjiwa further noted that the National Boundary Commission had already completed its delineation exercise, submitted its report to the Federal Government, and published the outcome in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 48, Vol. 111 dated March 18, 2024.
The judgment effectively compels the NUPRC to proceed with the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust Fund in line with the existing gazetted framework without further administrative delay.
