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Dangote ends legal action over petrol import licences granted to rivals
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Court notice confirms suit discontinuance against NNPC Ltd, five oil firms
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Dispute followed refinery’s protest against alleged breach of Petroleum Act
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has officially withdrawn its high-profile ₦100 billion lawsuit against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), and five petroleum marketers over petrol import licences.
The legal action, which was instituted at the Federal High Court in Abuja under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 on 6 September 2024, was formally discontinued on Monday, according to a notice filed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Ogwu Onoja, counsel to the refinery.
“Take notice that the plaintiff herein discontinues this suit against the defendants forthwith,” the filing dated July 28, 2025, stated.
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The lawsuit had named NNPC Ltd, Matrix Petroleum Services Ltd, AYM Shafa Ltd, A.A. Rano Ltd, T. Time Petroleum Ltd, and 2015 Petroleum Ltd as co-defendants, alongside the regulatory authority.
Dangote Refinery initially sought a court declaration that the NMDPRA violated Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act by issuing import licences that allegedly undermined domestic refining and sabotaged market liberalisation policies.
In the now-dropped suit, the refinery demanded ₦100 billion in damages, claiming that the NMDPRA’s licensing of product imports after the refinery commenced operations in September 2024 undercut its market position and discouraged local investment in refining infrastructure.
The withdrawal comes amid a notable decline in petroleum product imports during the last quarter, coinciding with Dangote Refinery’s full-scale rollout of fuel sales across Nigeria.
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Neither the refinery nor the NMDPRA has officially commented on the reasons for the lawsuit’s withdrawal, but industry analysts suggest that recent policy realignments and behind-the-scenes negotiations may have prompted a truce between the parties.
The case had stirred regulatory debates over the future of Nigeria’s downstream sector, where the Dangote refinery — Africa’s largest — is expected to play a pivotal role in reducing reliance on imported fuel.
