WARRI: The Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has convicted and sentenced 10 persons to various prison terms for illegal dealings in petroleum products, including the handling of substandard Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel.
The convictions were secured by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the defendants pleaded guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy and illegal dealings in petroleum products.
Justice H.A. Nganjiwa delivered the judgments on Friday, November 6, 2026, following prosecution by the EFCC’s Benin Zonal Directorate.
According to a statement released by the commission, the sentences range from two to three years’ imprisonment, with options of fines depending on the offences committed.
The 10 defendants convicted by the court are James Terry, Gift Ezewu Godfrey, Obidi Peter Obi, Anthony Onyebuchi Edekobi, Victor Ataria Sule, Jubril Abubakar, Auwal Aliyu, Nnaemeka Nwobodo, Victor Edem and Sunday Ndem Eyere.
The prosecution counsel, Francis Jirbo, urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants after they entered guilty pleas to the charges brought against them.
One of the charges specifically concerned the illegal handling of Automotive Gas Oil that failed to meet the required quality standards. The offence was reportedly committed on August 8, 2026, in Koko, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The charge against Victor Edem Udo cited Section 1(18)(a)(ii) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Revised Edition) 2004.
The court handed down different sentences and fine options based on the charges against the defendants.
James Terry and Gift Ezewu Godfrey were each sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, with an option of paying a fine of ₦300,000.
Obidi Peter Obi, Victor Ataria Sule, Jubril Abubakar, Auwal Aliyu, Nnaemeka Nwobodo and Victor Edem were each sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦300,000 fine.
Sunday Ndem Eyere received a three-year prison sentence or an alternative fine of ₦400,000, while Anthony Onyebuchi Edekobi was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦350,000.
The EFCC disclosed that the arrests followed intelligence received from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) concerning the defendants’ suspicious activities in Koko, Delta State.
Following the intelligence, the suspects were arrested, investigated and subsequently prosecuted by the commission, leading to their conviction.
The convictions come amid intensified efforts by Nigerian security and law enforcement agencies to curb illegal refining, crude oil theft and the unauthorised distribution of petroleum products.
On November 3, 2026, the EFCC announced the discovery of an illegal refinery allegedly operated by Chinese nationals in the Ogere area of Ogun State.
The commission said substances suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil were found in underground storage tanks at the facility.
Preliminary investigations reportedly indicated that the operators sourced sludge oil, also known as black sludge, from Warri in Delta State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State before transporting the material to Ogere for processing into diesel for sale in the Nigerian market.
In a separate operation in October 2026, the Nigerian Navy uncovered a suspected illegal refining site in Rivers State, where approximately 114,500 litres of petroleum products were discovered.
The recovered products reportedly included about 105,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil and 9,500 litres of suspected stolen crude oil stored in dugout pits.
The latest convictions underscore the continuing enforcement efforts against illegal activities in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, particularly the handling, processing and distribution of petroleum products outside approved regulatory standards.
