The Nigerian Navy Ship WEY in Ojo, Lagos, discovered a makeshift building suspected of being used to store illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) in the Kirikiri area.

During the raid, 30 drums filled with the suspected siphoned diesel were recovered. The value of the seized product is estimated at N30 million.

A woman, claiming to be the owner of the product, was arrested along with two drivers who had arrived to transport the diesel in two buses to unknown destinations.

The commander of NNS WEY, Commodore Mutairu Braimah, explained, “Based on credible intelligence, we heard there were a lot of illegal activities around the Kirikiri axis. My men stormed this place at about 4 am on Sunday, June 30, 2024, and saw some persons carrying out some acts of illegalities. We found these petroleum products. Two of them who came with trucks to convey the product were arrested while others escaped.”

He added, “We discovered their hideout used for storage of these items, and at this particular time, they are yet to give us the source where these particular items are being gotten from. We have conducted our own investigation. But we are not prosecuting agencies. We are therefore handing the suspects and recovered products to the Police to carry out further investigation and prosecute those that need to be prosecuted.”

Receiving the suspects and products from the Navy, the Divisional Police Officer of Kirikiri Division, CSP Adenola Agidi, stated that the division would conduct a preliminary investigation and then transfer the case to the Commissioner of Police for a thorough investigation due to the seriousness of the offense.

However, the woman who claimed ownership of the product, identified only as Ozi, denied that the diesel was siphoned.

She said, “I am using this as a means of survival. I bought the product as Remnant on Board (ROB) and sell to truck drivers who buy with jerricans. I don’t know the identities of those that sold the product to me. They brought it in a fiber boat and I used my hose to collect the product into the drums. I buy a drum between N180,000 and N200,000. I have been in this business for one year.”

The investigation continues as authorities work to determine the source of the illegal diesel and the identities of those involved in its distribution.