Niger: The government imposes a nighttime curfew on gas stations

Following a meeting with the Governor of Niamey, the city's managing director, and the Director General of the Nigerien Petroleum Company (Sonidep), the Minister of the Interior and his colleague from the Ministry of Petroleum, Trade, and Industry decided to prohibit the sale of fuel to the public at service stations from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM. This temporary measure takes effect this Monday, October 19, 2026.

"Facilitating delivery and refueling operations for service stations"

The Ministers justify this measure by the need to improve the regularity of the supply of petroleum products to service stations.

We want to "facilitate the delivery and refueling operations of service stations, particularly by the Nigerien Petroleum Company (Sonidep), in order to improve the fluidity of operations, the security of deliveries and the availability of products at the pump," they explained.

To ensure access to fuel between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., "on-call service stations will be designated in each municipal or rural district." The list of "stations concerned, their addresses, opening hours, and practical operating procedures will be communicated by the relevant departments before the measure comes into effect," the two government officials stated.

Users are advised to consult official channels to find out which stations are actually in service.

Furthermore, the sale of fuel in jerrycans outside of service stations is prohibited in all localities with at least one service station.