Court Throws Out Dangote’s ₦100bn Lawsuit Against NNPCL Over Fuel Import Licences

According to Ireporter Online, the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the N100 billion lawsuit instituted by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and several others over a dispute regarding fuel import licences.

Justice Mohammed Umar delivered the ruling after counsel to Dangote Refinery, C.O. Adegbe, applied to withdraw the case, prompting the court to strike it out based on an oral application made by the defendants’ lawyers.

The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), NNPCL, AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited were listed as defendants in the suit.

Dangote Refinery had approached the court seeking to nullify import licences granted by NMDPRA to NNPCL and five other companies, arguing that such authorizations undermined the domestic refining agenda. The company also demanded N100 billion in damages, accusing the regulator of persistently issuing import permits despite the establishment of local refining capacity.

Meanwhile, NNPCL is reportedly making moves to increase its stake in Dangote Refinery to 20 percent. The Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), noting that the company is also preparing for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

Ojulari explained that the company’s journey toward an IPO is mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), emphasizing that NNPCL has begun publishing its monthly performance data since May to enhance transparency. However, he did not provide a specific timeline for the listing.

In a related development, protesters under the banner of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) took to the streets of Benin City, Edo State, demanding that the Federal Government safeguard the Dangote Refinery, which they described as a strategic national asset capable of transforming Nigeria’s energy landscape.

The demonstrators accused elements within the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) of aligning with fuel import cartels to frustrate local refining efforts.

Speaking during the protest, NAPS President, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, urged the Federal Government to treat any act of sabotage against the refinery as economic terrorism, while calling for the full allocation of domestic crude oil supply to the facility.

Oghayan maintained that maximizing production at the refinery would reduce fuel prices, stabilize the naira, and conserve foreign exchange reserves. He further appealed to the Tinubu administration to end fuel importation entirely, prioritize the use of locally refined products across all sectors, and dismantle the fuel importation cartel.