Nigeria’ s Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered an immediate halt to all marketing activities related to a purported initial public offering by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, warning that no application for such an offer has been filed or approved by the regulator.
The directive, issued on Tuesday, followed a surge of advertisements, social media campaigns, digital banners, and targeted emails circulating across investment channels, some from registered capital market operators soliciting advance subscriptions, account openings, and guaranteed share allocations for an offer that does not yet exist in regulatory terms.
The SEC described these campaigns as market manipulation and a serious breach of the Investments and Securities Act 2025, warning they could mislead investors and undermine the integrity of Nigeria’ s capital markets.
Operators have been instructed to withdraw all promotional materials within 24 hours, cease accepting deposits or commitments from investors, and refund any funds already collected.
SEC Director- General Emomotimi Agama stated that the commission would take action against any operator found to be violating the order.
“We will move on to discipline market operators who are selling an offer that has not been approved by SEC,” he said, adding that the matter was being resolved swiftly.
Dangote Refinery has also distanced itself from these campaigns, reaffirming that it has not authorised any IPO- related marketing and that any official updates will be communicated through formal regulatory disclosures.
Investor interest in the refinery’ s shares remains high.
The Dangote Group is widely reported to be planning a pan- African IPO later this year, targeting a valuation of around 39 billion dollars, with a private placement earlier this month drawing demand of more than double its one- billion- dollar target.
Located in Lagos’ s Lekki Free Trade Zone, the refinery began commercial production in 2024 and reached full capacity of 650, 650,000 barrels per day earlier this year, making it the largest single- train refinery in the world.
Administrator and Writer
