Dangote Refinery has dragged the Nigerian government to court over the issuance of fresh petrol import licences to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
According to Reuters, court filings on Friday showed that the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to nullify import permits issued or renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The development comes amid criticisms from stakeholders over the decision to approve fresh petrol import licences for six petroleum marketers despite claims that Dangote Refinery currently possesses the capacity to meet a large portion of Nigeria’s local fuel demand.
In industry data released by NMDPRA, the regulatory authority disclosed that Dangote Refinery supplied about 79 percent of the country’s petrol consumption in April 2026.
Despite this, the regulatory agency reportedly proceeded with the issuance of additional import licences, a move that has generated reactions from industry experts and stakeholders.
In response, Dangote Petroleum Refinery filed a fresh suit against the Federal Government, seeking to overturn the import approvals granted to marketers and the NNPC.
The refinery accused the government of policy inconsistency despite earlier projections promoting a Nigeria-first policy aimed at encouraging local production and refining.
As part of efforts to protect domestic refining operations, Dangote Refinery is also seeking the cancellation of import permits granted to the NNPCL and several fuel traders.
According to the court filing, the refinery argued that the licences issued in May undermine its business operations and violate existing laws, which permit fuel importation only when local supply is insufficient.
It would be recalled that Dangote Refinery withdrew an earlier lawsuit against fuel importers in 2025 following the intervention of the Federal Government.
It was gathered that while some fuel importers currently sell petrol between N1,285 and N1,295 per litre, Dangote Refinery sells the product at about N1,200 per litre.
NAN
