The fight for control of Nigeria’s petrol supply continued at a Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited arguing that Aliko Dangote’s refinery sells fuel at expensive and unstable prices that could hurt ordinary Nigerians if competition is eliminated.
In court documents filed before Justice Akintayo Aluko, the state-owned oil company urged the judge to throw out a lawsuit brought by the Dangote Refinery seeking to stop the government from issuing import licences for petrol.
The NNPCL told the court that granting Dangote’s request would effectively hand the billionaire’s company exclusive control over who supplies petrol to more than 200 million Nigerians.
That kind of monopoly, the oil company warned, would leave the country with no backup plan if anything goes wrong at the Lekki-based refinery.
“If that plant shuts down for any reason—maintenance, fire, crude shortage, or any other disruption—and we have blocked all other import channels, then this country faces an immediate fuel crisis,” a senior official familiar with the NNPCL’s legal strategy told Spear News on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly.
The Dangote Refinery, which began producing petrol in 2024 after years of construction delays, has repeatedly argued that it can now meet more than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s daily fuel needs.
Company executives have questioned why the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority continues to approve import licences for other players.
But the NNPCL countered that no independent verification exists to back Dangote’s production claims. The oil company said the refinery has not provided auditable evidence of Nigeria’s actual daily consumption or proof that it can deliver fuel to every corner of the country without interruption.
“The numbers the refinery is putting forward are selective,” the NNPCL stated in its filing. “They do not account for the complexities of moving fuel from Lagos to Borno, from Port Harcourt to Sokoto.”
Beyond logistics, the NNPCL raised a more consumer-focused argument: Dangote’s petrol is already too expensive.
According to the court filing, the refinery charges prices that fluctuate significantly based on its own commercial calculations rather than any stable national interest formula. The NNPCL did not provide specific price figures in the affidavit but suggested that removing import competition would give Dangote even more freedom to raise prices arbitrarily.
The national oil company also accused the billionaire refiner of shopping for a friendly judge. According to the NNPCL, Dangote first filed a similar case in an Abuja court, withdrew it, and then refiled in Lagos. That behaviour, the company argued, amounts to an abuse of the court system.
Meanwhile, independent petrol station owners have lined up behind the NNPCL.
Billy Gillis-Harry, who leads the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, said his members have watched with concern as Dangote has repeatedly slashed petrol prices in recent months.
While that sounds like good news for consumers, Gillis-Harry argued that the strategy appears designed to undercut competitors and drive them out of business.
“Once every other importer is gone, what stops the refinery from raising prices back up?” he asked in an interview. “That is the danger of monopoly. The consumer celebrates today but pays tomorrow.”
Gillis-Harry also pointed out that many PETROAN members have invested heavily in their businesses based on the understanding that Nigeria operates a deregulated market where multiple players can compete. Shutting down imports, he said, would render those investments worthless.
The NNPCL echoed that sentiment in its court filing, arguing that the Petroleum Industry Act does not mandate a ban on imports. According to the oil company, Section 317(8) of the PIA merely gives regulators the discretion to apply a backward integration policy—not an obligation to force everyone to buy only from local refiners.
The court has not yet scheduled a hearing date. But legal observers say the case could take months to resolve, especially if both sides file appeals regardless of the outcome.
For now, the NNPCL remains what officials describe as the “supplier of last resort,” maintaining that import licences will continue to be issued as a strategic buffer against supply shocks.
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