EFCC Uncovers Illegal Alcohol Production, Timber Exports, Mining in Investigation of Ogun Refinery

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered suspected illegal businesses, including unregistered alcohol production, timber exports and mining activities, during an investigation into an illegal refinery allegedly operated by Chinese nationals in Ogere, Ogun State.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed the findings while inspecting the facility and briefing officials on the commission’s investigation into suspected financial and environmental offences.

The latest discoveries have expanded the scope of an earlier operation in which EFCC operatives uncovered an abandoned oil processing facility in Ogere on October 31, following weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering.

During the operation, officers from the commission’s Lagos Zonal Directorate Two discovered underground tanks suspected to have been used for heating and processing sludge oil.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the operators allegedly sourced the oil waste, commonly known as black sludge, from Warri in Delta State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State before transporting it to Ogere for processing.

The commission also disclosed that two tanks at the premises contained substances suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel.

Olukoyede further linked the discovery to previous enforcement operations targeting four illegal lithium processing facilities in the area.

He said the commission was expanding its investigation to establish the full extent of the suspected illegal activities and identify those responsible.

The EFCC’s findings have raised fresh concerns about the scale of alleged illegal industrial operations in the area, particularly their possible financial and environmental implications.