The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has told the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that petroleum products from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE are sold at “significantly high and fluctuating market prices,” warning that granting the refinery’s requests could hand it monopoly control of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
Dangote Faces Price War As NNPC Backs Fuel Imports
The national oil company stated this in a counter-affidavit in opposition to the Dangote refinery’s originating summons in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/857/2026 before the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division.
Similarly, marketers under the aegis of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria supported the NNPC, saying competition must be allowed in the petroleum sector to prevent what it called price exploitation, saying multiple sources privy would bring about a reduction in fuel prices.
In the counter-affidavit, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, the NNPC asked the court to dismiss or strike out the suit on grounds that it was incompetent, premature, disclosed no cause of action, and constituted an abuse of court process.
The PUNCH reports that the Dangote refinery had challenged the issuance of petrol import licenses to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The PUNCH reports that the NMDPRA recently approved licenses for the importation of over 700,000 metric tons of petrol despite claims that the Dangote refinery now supplies more than 90 percent of the nation’s daily PMS consumption.
The Dangote refinery had dragged the attorney general and the NNPC before the court, asking it to void import permits granted by the NMDPRA to fuel importers, arguing that the licenses violated existing regulations and an earlier court order to maintain the status quo.
Dangote had accused the NNPC and others of sabotaging the $20bn investment, especially by denying it crude supplies and resorting to fuel importation when it has the capacity to produce what the country needs in terms of petrol, diesel, and others.
Responding, the NNPC said it would raise a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit and the refinery’s locus standi. “The plaintiff’s suit is premature; the plaintiff lacks locus standi,” the affidavit said.
The state oil company declared that the Dangote refinery’s petroleum products were already expensive and subject to price swings dictated by commercial interests. “The plaintiff’s petroleum products are already sold at significantly high and fluctuating market prices, dictated by its commercial interests,” the company said.
NNPC accused the refinery of forum shopping, saying, ”The institution of multiple actions by the plaintiff in respect of substantially the same subject matter and reliefs constitutes an abuse of court process and amounts to forum shopping.”
The company argued that the Dangote refinery had earlier filed a similar action before the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 against the NMDPRA and six others over import licences and levies before later withdrawing the case and instituting another action in Lagos.
