Officials of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday raided the illegal refinery linked to the Chinese at Ogere-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The officers stormed the power after the EFCC’s intelligence uncovered what investigators described as a well-fenced, crude however technically subtle refinery occupying over three hectares of land.
The workforce noticed underground tanks believed to have been used for heating and processing sludge oil, waste merchandise from refining, and substances suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, in any other case often called diesel.
NMDPRA officers sealed off the power through the inspection.
The State Coordinator of NMDPRA, Dr Atilola Akinyemi, stated the power was working with out allow from any regulatory authority.
According to him, an underground storage facility behind the location has an estimated capability of greater than 90,000 litres, with underground heating programs, water hydrants for cooling, regionally fabricated tanks and silos for separation.
“This facility you see right here could be very crude and utterly illegal. This just isn’t a refinery by any commonplace. It doesn’t have a allow from any regulatory authority and its operations are unknown to the related authorities.
“They appear to be technically skilled people who have deliberately designed this facility to circumvent government regulations. When we examine their final product, it may look like diesel to the average person, but we cannot classify it as diesel until laboratory tests have been conducted,” he stated.
The EFCC, Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, stated “What we have seen here is an illegal refinery with a complete setup, featuring all the processes through which sludge passes before being converted into what is commonly referred to as diesel. Judging by the nature of this facility, it has been operating for years.”
Kalango stated the identical Ogere axis has grow to be a hub of illegal actions by international nationals, recalling that 14 Chinese nationals had been arrested per week earlier over illegal lithium processing.
“Some of them had passports, while others did not. Even among those who had passports, we discovered that some of their visas had expired about three months earlier. Yet, there were still individuals operating there without passports,” he stated.
He vowed that the operators will likely be dropped at e book.
Also talking, Director, Department of Proceeds of Crime Management, EFCC, Mr. Gbolahan Latona, stated, “Imagine allowing saboteurs like these to operate freely and undermine the efforts of legitimate investors like Dangote Refinery. Ultimately, it is Nigerians who will suffer.”
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