…EFCC traces discovery to whistleblower’s tip, surveillance
By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has warned that products from an illegal refinery uncovered in Ogere-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, could pose serious risks to vehicles, automobile engines and public safety.
The authority gave the warning on Wednesday during an inspection of the facility jointly conducted with operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Ogun State Coordinator of NMDPRA, Dr Atilola Akinyemi, said the facility, which occupies more than three hectares of land, had no operating licence or permit from any regulatory agency and was operating outside the supervision of relevant authorities.
He disclosed that the facility had an underground storage tank with an estimated capacity of more than 90,000 litres.
Akinyemi described the installation as a crude and illegal operation, saying its structures and equipment appeared designed to replicate the processes of a conventional refinery without complying with the required regulatory, technical and safety standards.
“The facility you see here is very crude and completely illegal. This is not a refinery by any standard. This facility does not have a permit from any regulatory authority, and its operations are unknown to the relevant authorities,” he said.
He explained that intelligence gathering by the EFCC was instrumental to the discovery, noting that routine regulatory monitoring alone might not have exposed an operation of such magnitude.
“This kind of discovery cannot be made through ordinary monitoring alone; it requires intelligence gathering. As the Zonal Director of the EFCC has explained, intelligence was instrumental in uncovering this operation. We need more of such efforts,” he said.
According to him, preliminary investigations showed that the facility had designated sections for receiving feedstock, storage, heating, processing and cooling.
Other installations discovered during the inspection included underground heating systems, water hydrants for cooling, locally fabricated storage tanks, separation silos and other equipment used in petroleum processing.
Akinyemi likened the operation to illegal refining activities that characterised parts of the Niger Delta in the 1990s and early 2000s, questioning the source of the crude materials allegedly being processed at the facility.
“One question that comes to mind is: where do they source their feedstock?” he queried.
He said the equipment and general layout suggested that the operators had some technical knowledge but had established the facility outside the country’s petroleum regulatory framework.
The NMDPRA coordinator cautioned against identifying the recovered products as diesel or Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) based solely on their physical appearance.
He said laboratory analysis was necessary to determine their chemical composition and establish whether they met the required standards for automotive use.
“When we examine their final product, it may look like diesel to the average person. However, we cannot classify it as diesel or Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) until laboratory tests have been conducted to establish its actual composition,” he said.
Akinyemi warned that releasing unverified products into the domestic market could damage vehicles and automobile engines.
“Imagine what would happen if these products found their way into the market. Vehicles, automobiles and their engines would be exposed to serious risks,” he added.
He confirmed that the recovered petroleum products and materials had been confiscated and placed in the custody of the Federal Government in accordance with applicable regulations.
He also pledged that the authority would sustain its collaboration with security and law enforcement agencies to identify and dismantle other illegal petroleum processing facilities across the state.
Akinyemi commended the EFCC and other participating agencies, saying intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement were critical to tackling illegal activities in the petroleum sector.
Meanwhile, the EFCC Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, said the operation followed information provided by a Nigerian whistleblower.
He said the commission conducted surveillance to verify the information before launching a sting operation that led to the discovery of the facility.
According to Kaltungo, the whistleblower responded to an appeal by the EFCC Executive Chairman, who had encouraged members of the public to report suspicious activities under the commission’s whistleblowing policy.
“A Nigerian who responded to that call subsequently provided us with information about an illegal mining site. We informed the Chairman, who directed us to conduct surveillance first. We carried out the surveillance and confirmed that the information was accurate,” he said.
He added that the EFCC chairman subsequently authorised the sting operation, during which the facility was uncovered.
“We are also on the verge of discovering another location,” Kaltungo said.
He further disclosed that the commission was investigating the ownership structure of companies allegedly linked to the operation, adding that some of their ultimate beneficial owners were reportedly based in China.
Also speaking during the inspection, the EFCC Director of Operations, Gbolahan Latona, warned that illegal petroleum processing activities could undermine legitimate investments in Nigeria’s refining industry and deprive the country of revenue.
Latona said the commission would ensure that assets established to be proceeds of crime were recovered and put to productive use in accordance with the law.
He cited the conversion of Nok University, following its forfeiture to the government, into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, as an example of the commission’s asset recovery and social reuse initiative.
He said the facility in Ogere-Remo could also be subjected to appropriate recovery and reuse procedures, depending on the outcome of investigations and the necessary legal processes.
Latona warned that illegal operators must not be allowed to undermine investments by legitimate players in the petroleum industry, particularly major domestic refining projects.
He said the arrested suspects would be prosecuted if sufficient evidence was established against them.
The commission, he added, would extend its investigations to individuals and interests allegedly financing the operation from outside Nigeria.
At the end of the inspection, NMDPRA officials sealed the facility.
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