The President and Founder of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that the refinery lost about $82 million due to theft and sabotage.

According to him, repeated acts of sabotage by powerful oil mafia interests have long undermined its operations.

In an interview with the media in Lagos over the weekend, Dangote alleged that influential cabals worked against the refinery’s success, threatening both its operations and the importation of petroleum products in Nigeria.

"We had a boiler, 400 tonnes, the largest ever built in the world and under operation, and someone went to remove the spare parts. If I tell you about the sabotages we went through, including some by machine manufacturers… drug mafias are actually smaller than the people in oil and gas. Most people in drugs know each other, but in the oil sector, you can rob many people openly," he shared.

Ghana's crude returns to Dangote Refinery for the second time

He also revealed that production lines meant to distribute gas to various areas had been compromised.

"You should ask how it is that all the pipelines we built, from the military base until now, all 22 depots, fully piped, have been destroyed. The sediments are gone; they have destroyed all the pipes," he added.

In September 2025, the Dangote Group announced a reorganisation of its operations to safeguard the refinery and improve efficiency.

Watch the video below:

Drug mafias are smaller than those in oil and gas because in drugs, you know who’s involved, but in oil, there are many corrupt people. We’ve lost $82 million to theft at this refinery. Yes, there’s sabotage. — Aliko Dangote

pic.twitter.com/XnGXr1cBhy

— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) December 15, 2025