EFCC Takes Over Suspected Illegal Refinery Site in Ogun

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it has taken over a deserted facility in Ogere, Ogun State, where investigators found waste and equipment linked to suspected illegal sludge-oil refining. The identities of the alleged operators and the facility’s owner have not been established, the commission said. EFCC operatives discovered the site on October 31 after gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance on suspected illegal sludge-oil refiners, according to a statement issued by the agency’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale. The premises were deserted when the team arrived, the commission said. Investigators found refining waste and underground tanks believed to have been used to heat and process sludge oil. Two inspected tanks contained substances suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel, according to the EFCC. The agency did not report a confirmed quantity of material or product at the site. The commission said preliminary investigations indicated that sludge oil, also called black sludge, was brought from Warri in Delta State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Ogere for processing. Its account described a process in...