Nigeria’s Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has taken direct command of a coordinated legal defence as the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and key regulatory agencies unite to resist a high-stakes lawsuit filed by Dangote Refinery challenging the legality of petroleum product import licensing in Nigeria — a case that industry observers say could fundamentally reshape the country’s downstream energy sector for decades to come.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/857/2026 before the Federal High Court in Lagos, has dramatically escalated tensions in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. Dangote Refinery is asking the court to halt the issuance and renewal of import licences for Premium Motor Spirit, Automotive Gas Oil, and Jet A1, arguing that its facility is now fully capable of meeting Nigeria’s entire domestic fuel demand. The refinery also alleges that relevant government agencies, including NNPC Ltd., have failed to guarantee adequate crude oil supply to sustain its operations at the scale needed to achieve that goal.
Filings now before the AGF confirm that the Federal Government is firmly opposing the suit. The Federal High Court had on April 29 ordered all parties to maintain the status quo, with NNPC formally served on May 4. The AGF subsequently requested NNPC’s formal position on May 7 ahead of a scheduled hearing on May 13, prompting a detailed response the following day.
NNPC, in its submission to the AGF, rejected Dangote’s claims in their entirety and issued a stark warning: granting the reliefs sought could destabilise national fuel security, disrupt emergency supply arrangements, and undermine Nigeria’s strategic distribution system as established under the Petroleum Industry Act. The national oil company argued that the current case closely mirrors an earlier suit filed in 2024 — FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 — which was later withdrawn after what sources described as a strong legal pushback from defendants. NNPC contended that the new suit represents a renewed attempt to advance similar claims under Sections 317(8) and 317(9) of the PIA, and challenged its legal competence outright.
At the heart of NNPC’s legal argument is the assertion that Section 317(9) of the PIA cannot operate in isolation without a formally activated Backward Integration Policy under Section 317(8) — and that no gazetted policy or official government directive currently exists to trigger such provisions. NNPC further argued that these cited provisions cannot in any case apply to NNPC Ltd. given its existing trading activities and equity interests in the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
NNPC also invoked its statutory role under Section 64(m) of the PIA as supplier of last resort, a designation that requires continuous import planning, strategic reserves, and nationwide distribution readiness to prevent fuel shortages. Officials warned the AGF that stripping that capacity by blocking imports could leave Nigeria dangerously exposed to sudden supply disruptions. NNPC, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission have all been identified as necessary parties in the suit given their central roles in crude allocation, import planning, refinery operations, storage, and national fuel distribution management. Industry observers say the outcome of the case could redraw the boundaries of competition in Nigeria’s downstream sector and settle the long-running question of how far domestic refining ambitions can go in displacing the country’s entrenched import structure.
Source: thesun.ng