Licensed operators may take over seized Ogere plants

OGERE, Ogun State, Nigeria — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) plans to seek court approval to bring licensed operators into industrial facilities uncovered in a raid on alleged illegal petroleum refining and solid mineral processing in Ogere, Ogun State.

The Commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed the plan while speaking to journalists at the site after the operation. Excerpts of his remarks were posted on a television channel’s X page on Saturday, November 7, 2026.

Olukoyede said the Commission would work with relevant regulatory agencies to identify qualified professionals and legitimate businesses that could run the facilities. The aim, he said, is to avoid destroying the infrastructure or leaving workers without jobs. He said the arrangement would only go ahead after the Commission obtains the necessary court orders, and that it would follow due legal process. The Commission has not announced any appointed operators or confirmed that the facilities have been handed over to new businesses.

He described the preservation of productive assets as part of the fight against financial and economic crime. “One of the high points of the fight against financial crimes and economic crime is to use it to stimulate the economy,” he said. “So all these things will not be destroyed. We are going to preserve them.”

The Commission found multiple facilities at the Ogere location equipped with heavy machinery and independent electricity generation. Investigators said the site was involved in illegal petroleum refining, the processing of high-value solid minerals including lithium, and wood processing for export.

The Commission’s investigation covers suspected money laundering, economic sabotage and illegal mining, including the activities of foreign nationals allegedly involved in the operations. Some suspects have been arrested and are providing information about alleged collaborators outside Nigeria. Investigators also found warehouses holding lithium batteries, telephone batteries and chargers, as well as hundreds of motorcycles suspected of supporting security arrangements at illegal mining locations.

The Commission has deployed personnel to provide 24-hour security and surveillance at the site while the investigation continues. Olukoyede said the operation, codenamed Operation Sovereign Wealth, aims to recover resources allegedly exploited through the illegal activities. He urged Nigerians to report similar operations, saying the country bears the economic cost when its resources are illegally exploited and the proceeds are taken elsewhere.

The Ogere operation comes amid other enforcement actions against unauthorised mining and petroleum activities. In May 2025, the Federal High Court in Jos ordered the deportation of four Chinese nationals after their conviction for illegal dealings in solid minerals, and ordered the forfeiture to the Federal Government of about ₦134.9 million linked to the activities. In October 2026, the Nigerian Navy uncovered a suspected illegal refining site containing about 114,500 litres of petroleum products in Rivers State. The Navy also arrested ten suspected drug offenders during a joint operation with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Delta State between October 14 and 15.