The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) is leading a coordinated legal defence against the fresh lawsuit filed by Dangote Refinery seeking to halt the issuance and renewal of petroleum import licences in Nigeria, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and other regulatory agencies backing the Federal Government’s position over concerns about national energy security.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/857/2026 before the Federal High Court in Lagos, has intensified the growing legal and commercial dispute surrounding Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, fuel import regime and crude supply obligations.
Dangote Refinery is asking the court to restrain the Federal Government and relevant agencies from issuing or renewing import licences for Premium Motor Spirit, Automotive Gas Oil and Jet A1, insisting that its refining capacity is sufficient to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs.
The refinery also accused government agencies, including NNPC Ltd., of failing to guarantee adequate crude oil supply to support its operations.
However, documents now before the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation show that the AGF is spearheading the defence of the suit, after formally requesting the positions of NNPC Ltd. and other affected agencies following the Federal High Court’s order directing parties to maintain the status quo pending further proceedings.
