The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has revealed that an illegal refinery discovered in Ogere Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, had an underground storage tank with a capacity exceeding 90,000 litres.
The State Coordinator of the authority, Dr Atilola Akinyemi, disclosed this on Wednesday during an inspection of the facility alongside officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Akinyemi said the illegal operation occupied more than three hectares of land and was uncovered through intelligence gathering rather than routine monitoring.
He described the facility as a crude and completely unauthorised operation, stressing that it had no approval from any regulatory agency.
According to him, the site contained underground storage tanks, locally manufactured tanks, separation silos, underground heating systems and water hydrants used for cooling.
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He added that the operators appeared to possess technical expertise and had designed the facility to imitate a standard refinery while deliberately avoiding government regulations.
The NMDPRA official warned against identifying the recovered products as diesel, also known as Automotive Gas Oil, until laboratory tests establish their actual composition.
He cautioned that distributing the unverified products could expose vehicles and automobile engines to serious damage.
Akinyemi confirmed that all recovered materials and petroleum products had been confiscated and placed under the Federal Government’s custody pending laboratory analysis and verification.
He assured that the authority would continue working with security agencies to identify and dismantle other illegal refining operations in Ogun State.
Meanwhile, the EFCC Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, said the commission discovered the facility after receiving intelligence from a Nigerian whistleblower.
He explained that the commission first conducted surveillance to verify the information before carrying out a sting operation that led to the discovery.
Kaltungo added that the EFCC was investigating the immigration status of some foreign nationals arrested at the facility. He said some reportedly failed to present passports, while others had visas that expired about three months earlier.
He further disclosed that investigations were ongoing into the ownership of companies allegedly connected to the operation, noting that some of their ultimate owners were based in China.
Also speaking, the EFCC Director of Proceeds of Crime Management, Gbolahan Latona, warned that illegal petroleum operations could discourage legitimate investments in Nigeria’s refining industry and deprive the country of government revenue.
He said the commission would recover any assets established to be proceeds of crime and ensure they were put to productive use in accordance with the law.
Latona cited the conversion of Nok University into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, after its forfeiture to the government, as an example of the commission’s asset recovery programme.
He added that the newly discovered refinery could also be considered for recovery and reuse, depending on the outcome of investigations and necessary legal procedures.
The EFCC director assured that suspects would face prosecution if sufficient evidence was established against them. He also said the commission would investigate individuals and interests allegedly financing the operation from outside Nigeria.
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