Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote's refinery moves to appeal ruling backing fuel imports

Aliko Dangote's oil refinery has asked Nigeria's Court of Appeal for permission to challenge a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the country's downstream regulator to keep granting fuel import licences to three major marketers, the latest round in the billionaire's two-year legal fight against imported petrol.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE filed a motion on notice at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Oct. 6, Nairametrics and TheNigeriaLawyer reported. Because the refinery was not a party to the original case, it is seeking leave to appeal as an interested party.

The appeal court has not yet ruled on the application, and no hearing date has been reported. The lower court's judgment stays in force unless it is set aside or varied.

What the court decided

On Sept. 28, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in a suit brought by Matrix Energy Ltd., A.A. Rano Nigeria Ltd. and AYM Shafa Ltd. against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, known as NMDPRA.

The marketers said the regulator had granted or renewed their import licences only sporadically since July 2025. In an affidavit, Sabiu Saidu Mahuta, an executive director of A.A. Rano, said the practice was entrenching the market dominance of local refineries. The three companies said they had collectively invested more than $20 billion in infrastructure, logistics and retail networks. Their lawyer, Raji Ahmed, a senior advocate of Nigeria, argued that allowing imports alongside local production would strengthen competition and guard against monopoly and price-fixing.

Ekwo held that the regulator's refusal or restriction of licences was in "direct non-compliance" with the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 and that powers exercised contrary to the law were null and void. He ordered the NMDPRA to continue to grant, issue, extend, renew or reissue licences to the three marketers, provided they meet all statutory and regulatory conditions. The judge also declared that the Petroleum Industry Act and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act require the regulator to promote competition and prevent abuse of dominant positions, Sahara Reporters reported.

Dangote's argument

Dangote's position is that the Petroleum Industry Act permits fuel imports only where domestic refining cannot meet local demand. The refinery relies on sections 317(8) and 317(9) of the act and argues that licences should not keep being issued when local supply is sufficient.

The refinery's chief economist, Hassan Mahmud, set out that view on the day of the judgment at the Nigeria Oil Refining Summit in Lagos, speaking for Dangote. "We do not seek protection from competition, but competition must take place on a level playing field," he said. "No refinery should survive simply because the government protects it."

The Energy Watchdog, an advocacy group, backed the appeal. "We stand firmly with Dangote Refinery in this appeal," said Martins Tayo, an engineer who spoke for the group.

A long-running fight

Dangote first went to court over import licences in 2024. In that suit, filed in Abuja against the NNPC, Matrix, A.A. Rano, AYM Shafa and other marketers, the refinery sought to void the licences, block new ones and claim 100 billion naira ($75.1 million) in damages. At a January 2025 hearing, the NMDPRA argued that the refinery's output was insufficient to meet national demand and that section 317(9) allowed it to license imports to bridge the gap. The refinery withdrew that case in July 2025 without giving a reason.

In 2026, the refinery filed a fresh suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos against the attorney general of the federation, asking the court to set aside import licences issued or renewed on or about May 6, which it says breached an April 29 order to maintain the status quo. Matrix, A.A. Rano and AYM Shafa have applied to join that case, and the NNPC and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria have accused Dangote of seeking a monopoly over domestic fuel supply. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke had adjourned the Lagos matter to Oct. 7.

The dispute plays out as the refinery takes a larger share of the market. Local refineries supplied about 3.18 billion liters of petrol in the first quarter of 2026 while imports fell sharply, according to NMDPRA figures cited by Nairametrics. Even so, the regulator recently approved fourth-quarter 2026 petrol import permits totaling 830,000 metric tons for six companies, including the three marketers in the Abuja case, The Will reported.

The regulator itself is led by a former Dangote executive. President Bola Tinubu nominated Rabiu Abdullahi Umar, previously group chief commercial officer at Dangote Industries, to head the NMDPRA in April, and the Senate confirmed him in May.

Dangote, 69, is Africa's richest person with a net worth of $51.7 billion, according to Forbes' real-time list on Oct. 10. Most of his fortune comes from his majority stake in Dangote Cement, the continent's largest cement maker. The refinery near Lagos, Africa's largest, began producing fuel in early 2024.