Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered capital market operators to immediately halt all promotional activities relating to a purported initial public offering (IPO) by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, warning that no application for such an offer has been filed with or approved by the regulator.

The SEC said on Tuesday (June 23) it had become aware of advertisements, flyers, digital banners and electronic mail campaigns promoting a planned public offering by the refinery and expressed concern over the involvement of some registered capital market operators.

The warning comes weeks after Dangote Group announced plans to sell up to a 10% stake in its $20bn, 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery through a pan-African IPO planned for the third quarter of 2026. The refinery, which began supplying refined products to the domestic market in 2025, has significantly reduced Nigeria's dependence on imported fuels and is the largest refining projects in Africa.

The Nigerian regulator described the pre-marketing activities as an "unwholesome and manipulative exercise", warning that operators were soliciting advance subscriptions for an offer that had not yet been submitted to the commission.

According to the SEC, the activities were "capable of misleading investors, distorting market expectations, creating information asymmetry and generally undermining the integrity of the capital market."

The commission directed stockbrokers, digital platform operators and other registered market participants to immediately cease publishing, reposting or distributing promotional materials relating to the acquisition or allocation of shares in the refinery. It also instructed them to remove unauthorised marketing materials from websites, social media platforms and messaging groups within 24 hours.

The SEC further ordered operators to stop accepting deposits, commitments, account openings or expressions of interest linked to the purported offering and to refund any funds already collected from clients within 24 hours. It warned that non-compliance would attract sanctions under the Investments and Securities Act 2025 and the SEC Rules and Regulations.

The commission advised investors to disregard high-pressure marketing tactics and any requests to transfer funds for "pre-IPO" placements, stressing that such activities had not received regulatory approval.

The SEC said that if it eventually receives and approves an application for a public offering by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, an approved prospectus would be made available to investors in accordance with the provisions of the Investments and Securities Act 2025.

Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) chairman Umaru Kwairanga said the exchange was working with stock exchanges across Africa to broaden participation in the anticipated offering and strengthen integration among the continent’s capital markets. Speaking at the London Africa Summit, he said the refinery’s eventual listing should be viewed as an African opportunity rather than solely a Nigerian transaction.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery this month increased crude processing capacity to 700,000 bpd, exceeding its official nameplate capacity of 650,000 bpd. Owned by Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, the refinery commenced fuel production in 2024 and has steadily increased output of petrol, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products. It currently supplies the domestic market, and exports refined products across Africa and to international destinations including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

The facility has also supplied gasoline cargoes to the United States and jet fuel to Saudi Arabia, helping establish its presence in international fuel markets. The refinery is on track to expand processing capacity to 1.4mn bpd within the next 30 months.