A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to continue issuing fuel import licences and related permits to Matrix Energy, AA Rano and AYM Shafa.

In a ruling this week, Judge Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja said non-compliance with the PIA and relevant laws would make any regulatory action on import licences legally ineffective.

“The consequences of non-compliance with the PIA and relevant laws make any exercise by the Authority in respect to import licences null and void,” Ekwo said.

Matrix Energy, AA Rano and AYM Shafa filed the suit in June. The lawsuit challenges the NMDPRA’s handling of fuel import licences.

The three marketers told the court they had invested more than $20 billion in infrastructure, logistics and retail networks to support their licensed fuel distribution businesses across Nigeria.

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Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and Kenyan President William Ruto are currently breaking ground on a landmark $16 billion oil refinery in Lamu, on Kenya’s northern coast.

The ceremony, held on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, formally launches construction of the 700,000-barrel-per-day facility, which is set to become the largest refinery in East Africa and the second-largest on the continent after Dangote’s plant in Lekki, Nigeria. The project aims to replicate the success of the Nigerian refinery by processing crude for regional markets, reducing East Africa’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products, lowering fuel costs, and conserving scarce foreign exchange.

Several African leaders are attending the groundbreaking, including the presidents of Uganda and Ethiopia, along with other regional heads of state and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The event underscores growing continental efforts to process raw materials locally rather than exporting crude and importing finished fuels.

Once completed around 2030, the Lamu refinery is expected to supply Kenya and neighbouring countries such as Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and others. Officials project it will create between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs and stimulate related industries, including petrochemicals and bitumen production. The complex will also feature a 1,000-megawatt power plant, with plans to sell a portion of the electricity to the Kenyan government.

Dangote has offered East African governments a combined 30% equity stake in the project. Financing is structured with roughly 70% debt and 30% equity. The facility is located near Lamu’s deep-water port, chosen for its strategic advantages in handling large-scale industrial operations.

While the project has faced some local land-related protests and a court order maintaining the status quo pending a hearing, the groundbreaking is proceeding as planned. Dangote has dismissed the challenges and reaffirmed that construction will move forward, with the plant targeted for completion in under four years.

The development is being hailed as one of Kenya’s biggest infrastructure investments since independence and a major step toward regional energy security and industrialisation.