Regulator and EFCC seal a site in Ogun that was turning oil sludge into suspected diesel

Illegal refining is usually a story about the creeks of the Niger Delta. This one was in Ogun State, not far from Lagos.

What was found

The downstream regulator, NMDPRA, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sealed a site at Ogere-Remo in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State on Wednesday 4 November, Daily Trust, BusinessDay and Vanguard reported.

The site covers more than three hectares. It has an underground storage tank estimated to hold over 90,000 litres, underground heating systems, water hydrants for cooling, and locally made tanks and silos for separating the product. Officials said it was used to heat sludge oil into a liquid suspected to be diesel.

"This is not a refinery by any standard," said Dr Atilola Akinyemi, NMDPRA's coordinator in Ogun State, as quoted by Daily Trust and Vanguard. He said it had no permit from any regulator, and that the product could not be called diesel until laboratory tests were done.

How the EFCC found it

The EFCC's Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 first raided the site on Saturday 31 October, according to a statement by the commission's spokesman, Dele Oyewale, reported by Nairametrics. The site was deserted, but the EFCC found waste from the process and two underground tanks holding a substance suspected to be diesel. Its early findings are that the sludge was brought in from Warri in Delta State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

The EFCC zonal director, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, said the commission is looking into who owns the companies involved and that some of the ultimate owners are based in China, BusinessDay reported. Security staff at the site told the EFCC that the operators had not given their names or a company name. Recovered products were taken into government custody, Vanguard said.

One outlet, Naija News, reported that three Chinese nationals were arrested near the site on 4 November, citing unnamed sources. Daily Trust and BusinessDay reported no arrests, and we could not confirm it. No one has been charged, and no owner has been named or has responded.

This is a separate case from the arrest, days earlier, of 14 Chinese nationals and one Nigerian over alleged illegal lithium processing in Ogun.

The risk to motorists

Akinyemi warned that if such a product reached the market, "vehicles, automobiles and their engines would be exposed to serious risks", Vanguard reported. He said it may look like diesel to an ordinary buyer. An EFCC director, Gbolahan Latona, said legitimate fuel businesses lose out to operators like these.

What it means for you

Cheap diesel sold by the roadside or in jerrycans may not be diesel at all. If you run a generator, a truck or a bus, buy from licensed stations and depots and keep receipts. A bad batch can damage an engine and cost far more than you saved. Is cheap diesel safe? A simple guide.