Men of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT have bust an alleged illicit Automated Gas Oil (AGO or Diesel) bunker with a capacity of 400,000 litres inconspicuously hidden inside a private residence in the Lekki area of Lagos.
The discovery came following a tip off to the Navy that a gas tanker was seen loading at Elegushi Beach.
The suspects operating the illegal oil business have been arrested, and together with the confiscated items have been transferred to Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) at SilverBird Road, Ilasun in Lekki for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Among the sealed-off and seized items are eight tanks, each with a storage capacity of 50,000 litres, totalling 400,000 litres of AGO, but had a total of 57,000 litres as at the time of the confiscation. Also a truck of 7,000 litres and a white TM bus carrying 30 jerry cans of 50 litres each, totalling 1,500 litres of AGO, were seized. The estimated market value of the confiscated products amounted to N89,000,000. Furthermore, the discovery included 400 jerry cans and 13 drums meticulously arranged inside another TM bus and within the compound.
The estimated value of all storage facilities, assuming they were filled with AGO, was N500 million.
During the transfer of suspects to NSCDC, Commodore Rafiu Taye Oladejo, the Commander of NNS BEECROFT, disclosed the business – Ahmed Ariyo Sons Nigeria Limited, although unregistered is owned by one Ahmed Ariyo. His two sisters and other suspects identified as part of the illicit family enterprise were also arrested.
The commander described the circumstances that led to the operation.
“Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday), we got intelligence that a white bus was loading petroleum products at Elegushi Beach.
“We dispatched our Quick Response to the location. Before they could get there, both the boat and bus had disappeared.
“Our further surveillance of the white bus led to the discovery of this private apartment of an illegal fuel depot,” Oladejo said.
Commodore Oladejo said the potential economic, security and safety implications for the general area, especially in the event of a fire disaster, were difficult to imagine.
When asked about other possible collaborators in the criminal enterprise, Oladejo agreed that such huge operations would typically involve multiple collaborators. He said it remained the commitment of the Nigerian Navy under the leadership and command of Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla to combat oil theft wherever it is observed.
When interviewed by pressmen, a seemingly unperturbed Ariyo told reporters that he started the business five years ago with a loan of N50 million from a bank. He revealed he relied on supplies from workers in oil vessels known as “Remain on Board” (RB) and purchases from depots with appropriate waybills which allowed him to load from the Apapa Wharf.
Ariyo, aged 47, stated, “Since I started about five years ago, I deal only on Diesel (AGO) and retail the product to individuals within Jakande, Agunji, Igbo-Efon, Ajah and its environs.”
He further said he acquired four of the tanks from a filling station for N1.5 million each after they discarded them during a renovation.
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