The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has abandoned and withdrawn its appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja after insisting on challenging Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE’s N100 billion import license case.
The appeal was withdrawn on August 26, 2025, Nairametrics reports after exclusively reviewing the Commission’s notice of withdrawal filed against the Refinery and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, and four other major oil dealers.
The notice of withdrawal of appeal, by FCCPC’s lawyer, Olanrewaju A. Osinaike Esq., and exclusively seen by Nairametrics, was made by the Commission citing Dangote Refinery’s discontinuance of its import license suit at the Federal High Court.
Court Developments and Ruling
The notice is said to be “BROUGHT PURSUANT TO ORDER 11, RULE 1 OF THE COURT OF APPEAL RULES, 2021 AND UNDER THE INHERENT POWERS & JURISDICTION OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT.”
Osinaike argued that since the foundation of the subject matter of the Commission’s appeal has been discontinued, it will not be interested in proceeding further.
“We are Counsel to the Appellant (FCCPC) in APPEAL NO: CA/ABJ/CV/880/2025 and having appealed the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial in SUIT NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, by filing a Notice of Appeal on 23rd May, 2025, pursuant to the leave of this Honourable Court on 21st May, 2025.
“The 1st Respondent (Dangote Refinery) having withdrawn SUIT NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, the substratum (foundation) of this present appeal, we on behalf of the Appellant (FCCPC) hereby GIVE NOTICE that the Appellant does not intend to further prosecute the appeal, and hereby abandon all further proceedings in regard thereto from the date hereof,” the notice partly reads.
- At the resumed proceedings on August 26, 2025, Nairametrics gathered that legal representatives of the parties in the suit were present.
- Osinaike Esq informed the Appeal Court panel of its application to withdraw the appeal.
- The respondents were not opposed to the reasoning of the FCCPC legal team.
- After hearing from the parties’ legal representatives, the Appeal Court dismissed the FCCPC case.
What This Means
In an exclusive interview with Nairametrics, Barrister Oladipupo Ige said that, according to competition law, if Dangote Refinery had succeeded in its import license case, it would have restricted entry and competition in the oil and gas sector, thereby giving the refinery a substantial market share, which in turn may hinder free competition.
“This would mean the refinery would be able to dictate prices and engage in other restrictive practices,” he added.
He stressed that the fact that Dangote Refinery has withdrawn its case and the FCCPC has filed a notice to discontinue its appeal means that “free market wins.”
He explained that it is naturally the job of the FCCPC to regulate market activities, but “if the threat of monopoly in this instance has been resolved,” it is only logical that the matter should be withdrawn.
“The FCCPC has done well. They have done their job,” he said.
He maintained that the instant legal development is a win for competition in Nigeria.
He stressed that competition is important for a vibrant economy, adding that while achieving perfect competition might be unrealistic, a fair market should be saturated with many buyers and sellers, have homogeneous products, and contain no barriers to entry or exit.
Backstory
Recall that the Refinery had on July 28, 2025, notified the Federal High Court Abuja of its discontinuance of its N100 billion import license lawsuit against Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others.
The Refinery and the FCCPC had been in a legal battle over the Commission’s relevance in the pending suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, which seeks to nullify import licenses issued to certain Nigerian oil companies by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
- Dangote Refinery’s legal representative, George Ibrahim SAN, described the FCCPC application to join its case as a “meddlesome interloper” with no legal standing in a case centered on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
- Osinaike had maintained that the FCCPC is a statutory defendant in all matters related to competition and monopoly in Nigeria and that the Refinery’s suit directly relates to anti-competition and monopoly concerns in the petroleum industry.
- But in his ruling on the FCCPC’s joinder application, Justice Inyang Ekwo stated that he could not find any relevance of the Commission in a case focused on the PIA.
- The judge subsequently dismissed the FCCPC’s application, describing it as “unmeritorious,” while FCCPC disagreed and sought redress at the Court of Appeal.
- Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, had previously expressed willingness to sell a stake in his multibillion-dollar refinery to NNPCL, amid escalating disputes with regulators and equity partners last year.
Dangote had also accused other petroleum importers of bringing substandard petroleum products into Nigeria.
Nairametrics reported that the federal government eventually allowed oil marketers to purchase petroleum products directly from Dangote Refinery, following NNPCL’s decision to withdraw as an intermediary between the refinery and marketers.
Lately, reports indicate that Dangote later asked President Bola Tinubu to include refined petroleum products in the list of items banned under the ‘Nigeria First’ policy of the Federal Government.
