EFCC moves to hand Ogere illegal oil, mineral facilities to licensed operators

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will ask a court for orders to bring licensed operators into industrial facilities uncovered in Ogere, Ogun State. The facilities were found during a raid on alleged illegal petroleum refining and solid mineral processing.

EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede disclosed this while speaking with journalists at the location after the operation. The clip was posted on the Arise News X page on Saturday. He said the commission wants to work with relevant regulatory agencies to identify qualified professionals and legitimate businesses that can run the facilities. The aim is to avoid destroying the infrastructure or throwing workers out of their jobs.

Court approval first

Olukoyede said the arrangement will only proceed after the commission obtains the necessary court orders. The EFCC has not announced any appointed operators or confirmed that the facilities have been handed over to new businesses.

He said the commission will involve relevant regulatory agencies in identifying professionals and businesses licensed to manage the industrial facilities. The goal is to preserve the assets and redirect their activities towards legitimate economic use.

Olukoyede said: "We are going to apply to court for all the necessary orders. And we will bring in all the relevant regulatory agencies to go and bring professionals, those who are licensed to run this kind of businesses."

He said the commission would follow due legal process and would not destroy the facilities. He described the preservation of productive assets as part of its approach to fighting financial and economic crimes.

"One of the high points of the fight against financial crimes and economic crime is to use it to stimulate the economy. So all these things will not be destroyed. We are going to preserve them," Olukoyede added.

He said the proposed arrangement is intended to protect Nigerians employed at the facilities. It is also meant to ensure that any future operations are conducted by qualified and properly licensed businesses.

What was found in Ogere

The plan follows the discovery of what Olukoyede described as an extensive industrial operation in Ogere. It comprises facilities allegedly involved in illegal petroleum refining, processing of high-value solid minerals, including lithium, and wood processing for export. He said the location contained multiple facilities equipped with heavy machinery and independent electricity generation to sustain their activities.

The commission said its investigation covers suspected money laundering, economic sabotage and illegal mining. The probe includes the activities of foreign nationals allegedly involved in the operations. Some suspects have been arrested and are providing information about their alleged collaborators outside Nigeria.

Investigators found warehouses containing lithium batteries, telephone batteries and chargers. They also found hundreds of motorcycles suspected to have supported security arrangements at illegal mining locations. The EFCC has deployed personnel to provide 24-hour security and surveillance at the site while investigations continue.

Olukoyede said the operation, codenamed Operation Sovereign Wealth, was intended to recover resources allegedly exploited through the illegal activities. He urged Nigerians to report similar operations. He warned that the country bears the economic cost when its resources are illegally exploited and the proceeds taken elsewhere.

Other enforcement cases

The Ogere operation comes amid other enforcement actions against unauthorised mining and petroleum activities across the country. In May 2025, the Federal High Court in Jos ordered the deportation of four Chinese nationals, Liang Quin Yong, Wang Huajie, Zhong Jiajing and Long Kechong, after their conviction for illegal dealings in solid minerals. The court also ordered the forfeiture of approximately N134.9 million linked to the unlawful activities to the Federal Government.

In October 2026, the Nigerian Navy uncovered a suspected illegal refining site containing approximately 114,500 litres of petroleum products in Rivers State. Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, Director of Naval Information, disclosed the discovery in a statement detailing the Navy’s operations on October 15. The Navy also arrested 10 suspected drug offenders during a separate joint operation with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Delta State between October 14 and 15.

The Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, sentenced 10 persons to prison for illegal dealings in petroleum products, including substandard Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel.

For Nigerian businesses, the EFCC’s plan signals a preference for preserving productive assets and keeping licensed operators in the value chain rather than shutting down facilities outright. That could matter for local employment and for efforts to keep resource-linked revenue within the formal economy.