The motion on notice filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery in its legal battle with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over the actions of the regulator against the refinery will today, September 9, be heard by the Federal High Court in Lagos. The hearing was sequel to an interim order obtained by Dangote Refinery restraining NMDPRA from shutting down, sealing, disrupting or otherwise interfering with the operations of the refinery at the Lekki Free Zone. Justice Akintayo Aluko adjourned the matter until the 9th of September for the hearing of Dangote’s motion on notice.
The row started after NMDPRA issued a directive on August 24 ordering the suspension of loading and truck-out of petroleum products from its facility, Dangote said.Later, the refinery went to the Federal High Court for protection against the regulator’s actions, questioning the NMDPRA’s authority to exercise regulatory and oversight powers over its operations within the free zone.
The court’s interim order bars NMDPRA from taking any steps that could interfere with the refinery’s operations pending determination of the substantive application.
The nub of the disagreement is a question of the extent of NMDPRA’s regulatory powers in free zones.
The NMDPRA has no regulatory or oversight jurisdiction it is trying to exert over the refinery, Dangote said, because the facility is situated inside the Lekki Free Zone.
The court granted the interim order based on a letter from the Attorney-General of the Federation, dated March 2, 2026, which the judge narrated, said that NMDPRA was not to perform regulatory or oversight functions on operations in free zones.
But NMDPRA has taken the opposite position before.
The regulator insisted in a circular issued in May that petroleum companies operating in free zones, export processing zones and industrial zones remain subject to the Petroleum Industry Act and NMDPRA regulations. The regulator said its mandate covers petroleum activities including refining, processing, storage, transportation, importation, exportation and distribution in such zones.
But the regulator’s stance could mean today’s proceedings may not be limited to Dangote Refinery alone, particularly for petroleum companies operating in Nigeria’s various designated free and industrial zones.
The court battle is the latest chapter in a much longer disagreement between Dangote Refinery and Nigeria’s petroleum regulator over the country’s downstream petroleum market.
Tensions were particularly visible in 2024 when Dangote accused regulators and other industry players of frustrating its newly established refinery with continued importation of refined petroleum products and difficulties in accessing sufficient crude oil.
The dispute eventually turned into a legal battle over fuel-import licences.
Dangote had instituted a suit against NMDPRA, NNPC and some petroleum marketers, alleging that the continued issuance of import licenses was damaging local refining and contravening sections of the Petroleum Industry Act. NMDPRA and other players in the industry argued that there were cases where imports were necessary where domestic production could not meet the national demand.
The dispute also came at a time when there were concerns about the quality of imported petroleum products and the ability of domestic refineries to obtain adequate crude supplies. The lawmakers launched an investigation into crude shortages affecting local refineries and the importation of petroleum products when tensions between Dangote and the regulator intensified in 2024.
In July 2025, Dangote withdrew the earlier suit on the import-licence without any public explanation on the reason for the withdrawal. But the trade row over imports reignited in 2026. Dangote filed a fresh legal challenge to the petroleum import licences granted or renewed by NMDPRA to marketers and NNPC in April. The refinery claimed the licences were anti-competitive to local refining and contrary to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act on imports where there is domestic supply. But NNPC challenged Dangote’s position in court, warning that the loss of the licences could jeopardize the supply of fuel, lead to price instability and threaten the country’s energy security. The NNPC also said the law did not ban importation totally and Dangote has not shown that its refinery can meet the total fuel demand of the country consistently.
Fuel marketers also opposed Dangote’s lawsuit, saying import licenses remain a key tool to ensure competition and security of supply.
But the government has taken steps at various times to prioritize domestic supply. NMDPRA did not issue licences for petrol imports in February and March 2026, citing provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act to give priority to local supply when domestic production can meet demand.
The latest row, then, is different from the earlier import-licence cases, although it’s part of the same overarching dispute between Dangote Refinery and the petroleum regulator.
The immediate question for the court this time is the regulatory power of NMDPRA over the operations of Dangote within a free zone.
The results could be meaningful for the refinery, regulator and possibly other petroleum operators working under Nigeria’s free zone regime.
Meanwhile, the court’s interim order is still in force, pending the hearing of Dangote’s motion on notice today.
The September 9 proceedings will set the next stage in a dispute that has grown from rows over crude supply and fuel imports to a broader legal question concerning the limits of petroleum regulation in Nigeria.
