May 24, 2026
By Nnamdi Ojiego
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) have launched a vigorous legal challenge against a new lawsuit filed by Dangote Refinery seeking to halt the issuance and renewal of petroleum product import licences across the country, arguing that the move poses a direct threat to national energy security.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/857/2026 and pending before the Federal High Court in Lagos, represents the latest and most dramatic escalation in the ongoing legal and commercial battle over Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
Dangote Refinery is asking the court to restrain the Federal Government and all regulatory agencies from issuing or renewing import licences for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and Jet A1, contending that its own refining capacity is now sufficient to satisfy the entirety of national demand.
