Ogun State, Nigeria — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) have officially uncovered and sealed a massive, multi-hectare illegal industrial enclave in Ogere-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, operated by Chinese nationals.
The highly sophisticated facility; unregulated industrial complex stretching over three hectares housing an illegal oil refinery, four unlawful lithium processing plants, laboratories, server rooms, an independent power plant, an unregistered alcohol distillery, and an illegal timber export factory was operated by a syndicate of Chinese nationals alongside local Nigerian collaborators.
On October 23, 2026, the EFCC arrested 14 Chinese nationals and one Nigerian at the lithium processing plants. And on November 5, 2026, three additional Chinese nationals living opposite the refinery without valid visas were also apprehended. The facility was raided on October 31, 2026, and has been permanently sealed by federal authorities. The EFCC is pursuing asset forfeiture to reconfigure the facility for legal government operations.
Following weeks of covert surveillance and a tip-off from a local whistleblower, operatives from the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 stormed a heavily fortified, fenced premises in Ogere-Remo. What authorities originally anticipated to be a routine clampdown on illegal mining revealed an unprecedented, self-sustaining illicit industrial city.
The complex generated its own 24-hour electricity to power heavy machinery completely off the state grid, evading regulatory monitoring and taxation. According to Dr Atilola Akinyemi, the Ogun State Coordinator for the NMDPRA, the crude processing plant was deliberately engineered to mimic standard modular refineries while bypassing all legal frameworks.
Federal investigators discovered a massive 90,000-litre underground storage system complete with custom-fabricated separation silos, hydrants for cooling, and underground heating networks. Preliminary findings indicate the operators sourced "black sludge" (oil waste products) from Warri, Delta State, and Port Harcourt, Rivers State. They subjected the sludge to intense heat to process it into illicit diesel (Automotive Gas Oil) for commercial distribution across Nigerian markets.
The oil theft operation ran parallel to major environmental crimes. On-site factories were actively processing high-value solid minerals, specifically lithium rocks. Inside a sprawling warehouse, authorities recovered thousands of phone and laptop batteries, heavy mineral-processing equipment, and hundreds of motorcycles suspected of being used by a private security network patrolling the illegal mining perimeters.
Compounding the economic sabotage, the operators practiced strict corporate anonymity. Security personnel at the site confessed that the Chinese executives never revealed their true identities, corporate registry data, or the actual name of the parent company. Furthermore, multiple arrested foreign operators were found to be living in the country with expired visitor visas or without passports entirely.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede led top officials to inspect the facility, calling the operation an act of deliberate economic warfare designed to stifle legitimate local investments.
The EFCC has taken full control of the property and announced plans to file for interim and final asset forfeiture in federal court. Rather than demolishing the site, the commission intends to reconfigure the sophisticated hardware, legalize the operations, and absorb the local factory hands into a state-regulated framework. Meanwhile, international tracking protocols are being deployed to apprehend the primary financiers based in China.
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