Dangote Raises Alarm Over Alleged Sabotage In Downstream Oil Sector

Founder and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has expressed deep concern over what he described as widespread and organised sabotage within Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.

Speaking to journalists at a briefing on Sunday, Dangote said both his refinery and government-owned facilities have suffered repeated acts of sabotage, blaming powerful cartels he said posed greater danger than drug syndicates.

“If I tell you the sabotages that we went through, including some of the machine manufacturers that were on the verge of going to court, you will know what I’m saying,” Dangote said.

“Drug mafias are actually smaller than the people who are in oil and gas. They have robbed so many people in this sector.”

At the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, he cited specific incidents, including the removal of spare parts from a 400-ton boiler, which he described as the largest ever built, describing such actions as deliberate attempts to cripple operations.

Dangote also drew attention to the widespread destruction of pipeline infrastructure across the country, insisting the damage could not be attributed to natural causes.

“You are talking about sabotage, and I’m happy that you are also here in Nigeria. I don’t know if Mele Kyari (former NNPCL GCEO) is still in town, but I think you should go to his house in Maitama and ask him how many sabotages the Port Harcourt refinery repairs went through,” he said.

“He told me many times that they have had more than 100 sabotages at the refinery. You can ask him, and he will tell you.”

Questioning the collapse of Nigeria’s pipeline network, Dangote asked why none of the existing pipelines remained functional.

“How come now, for example, all the pipelines that were built, right from the military base to date, none of them are functioning?” he queried.

Using Kano as an example, Dangote recalled that products were once transported seamlessly through pipelines linking depots across states.

“The one that we have, which is from where I am from, Kano, that depot, we were not using trucks. The depots were only going to the trucks to load. Everything was piped up to that. 22 depots were built. They are all piped, all 22 depots,” he said.

He added that the pipelines have since been completely destroyed.

“Actually, even the sediments don’t have it anymore. They have destroyed the pipes, all of them. So, if it is not sabotage, is that an earthquake? It’s not an earthquake now, because it’s sabotage. Sabotage is sabotage. So, that is what it is,” Dangote stated.

The Dangote Refinery, which was commissioned in May 2023, has also recorded significant financial losses due to theft and vandalism, according to the industrialist.

“In this refinery, we have lost maybe $82 million of stolen items. They were actually trying to make us put massive claims on insurance. Continuously, our insurance premiums will just keep going up. Yes, there is sabotage,” he said.

Dangote said the severity of the threat had forced the company to deploy extraordinary security measures, including hiring more security personnel than operational staff.

“People will come here with long pieces of cord cables and put [them] on their bodies to try and see how they can take it out. And we answer, ‘Okay, fine, what are you doing with it?’ It’s just sabotage,” he said.

He warned that such organised theft and sabotage pose a serious risk to oil production and Nigeria’s economic stability.

“You should ask all the people who have ever built modular refineries. I challenge any one of them to say that nothing was stolen. That’s why we have more security people than actual workers,” Dangote added.

In October 2025, the Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, disclosed that the refinery had recorded 22 attempted physical sabotage incidents since it began operations.