Dangote insists ‘oil mafia’ stronger than drug cartels, cites $82m refinery thefts

File photo of President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote

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The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has reiterated his remarks regarding systemic sabotage in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, asserting that the “oil mafia” is far more powerful than drug cartels.

During a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, on Sunday, Dangote said criminal organisations undermining local refining are far more formidable than drug cartels, detailing the immense financial and physical damage inflicted upon his refinery and the nation’s infrastructure.

“I told you that drug mafia, they’re actually smaller than the people who are in oil and gas. Because most of the people who are in the drugs, you know yourselves, but in the oil sector, there are so many people,” he said.

Dangote further disclosed the substantial financial losses incurred by his refinery due to these activities, noting the security measures required to protect the refinery.

“In this refinery, we have $82 million of stolen items, and what they were actually trying to do is to make sure that we go and put a massive claim on insurance. So when we put a massive claim on insurance, you know, there’s no free lunch.

“So, continuously, our insurance premiums will just keep going up. So, yes, there is sabotage. And I’m sure, you know, we should go and ask all the people who have even built, you know, the modular refineries. And I challenge any one of them to say that nothing was stolen.

“That’s why we have more security people in this refinery than actual workers of the refinery.”

Dangote pointed to specific acts of sabotage, including the removal of a critical spare part from a massive boiler while it was operational.

“We have a boiler. 400 tons is the largest boiler ever built in the world. It was under operation. Somebody went there and removed a spare part out of it.

“If I tell you the sabotages that we went through, including some of the machine manufacturers, we are on the verge of going to court, so I cannot tell you what, but if I tell you, you will now know what I’m saying.”

He also broadened his accusation to cover the destruction of national assets, arguing that the pervasive damage across the country’s petroleum network is evidence of sabotage.

“How come now, for example, all the pipelines that were built, right from the military days to date, none of them, the one that we have, which is from where I am from, Kano, that depot, we are not using trucks. 22 depots were built. They are all piped. All 22 depots, actually, even the sediments, they don’t have it anymore. They have destroyed the pipes, all of them.

“So if it’s not sabotage, is that an earthquake? It’s not an earthquake, because it’s sabotage. Sabotage is sabotage. So that is what it is.

“I don’t know whether Mele Kyari is still in town, but I think you should ask him how many sabotages the Port Harcourt refinery repairs went through. He told me many times that they have had more than 100 sabotages at the refinery. You can ask him. He will tell you.”

PUNCH reports that Dangote also spoke on what he described as regulatory failures and alleged corruption in the downstream petroleum sector, alleging that the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, paid about $5m for the secondary school education of his four children in Switzerland, calling for a full investigation and public explanation.

Dangote’s statements on sabotage are not isolated. In June 2024, he stated that both local and international criminal organisations, which he described as a “mafia,” had made repeated attempts to sabotage his entire refinery project.

According to him, the opposition consisted of international traders and local marketers who preferred to profit from the importation of petroleum products rather than allow local refining to succeed.

In September 2025, he again raised an alarm, alleging deliberate attempts to frustrate the refinery’s operations, warning that “the international traders and the local marketers all connive to suffocate any refinery”.

Watch a video from the briefing below:

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 ‘𝐎𝐢𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚’ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐬, 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 $𝟖𝟐𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐭𝐬

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has reiterated his remarks regarding systemic sabotage in Nigeria’s… pic.twitter.com/AFs3Zhut1O

— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) December 15, 2025

Deborah, with nearly two years of media experience, reports human interest stories with a foundation in metro reporting.

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