The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered 2.3 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel, valued at N4.485 billion, from Ibafon Oil and Gas in Lagos over an alleged case of stealing and criminal conversion. The recovery was carried out by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC on Monday, August 17, 2026, from Mamemo Ibru of Ibafon Oil and Gas. The commission disclosed the development on Tuesday, August 18, in a post on its official X account. The recovery followed a petition from Prudent Energy and Services Limited, which alleged that petroleum products it had entrusted to Ibafon Oil and Gas for storage had been unlawfully converted, creating a significant gap between the volume of products it expected to have in storage and what was physically available.
What they are saying
According to the EFCC, Prudent Energy alleged that withdrawals were periodically made from the petroleum products stored at the depot, reducing the outstanding stock to 2,574,031 litres. However, when a subsequent physical measurement and reconciliation exercise was conducted, the quantity found in the storage tanks was significantly lower than the expected balance. The exercise showed that only 206,761 litres remained, leaving a deficit of 2,367,270 litres. “However, during a subsequent physical measurement and reconciliation exercise, only 206,761 litres remained in the storage tanks, leaving a deficit of 2,367,270 litres.”
The EFCC said its investigation found that Ibafon Oil and Gas buys and sells AGO while also storing its own petroleum products alongside products belonging to customers at the same depot. The commission further alleged that Ibru used his position as the owner of Ibafon Oil and Gas to truck out petroleum products beyond the quantity belonging to the company and allegedly converted products belonging to Prudent Energy for his own use. Following the EFCC’s intervention, the recovered petroleum products were handed over to Prudent Energy. Get up to speed
The case highlights the importance of storage infrastructure and inventory controls in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market, where oil marketers routinely move large volumes of products through depots before they reach distributors and consumers.
Prudent Energy and Services Limited is a wholly owned Nigerian downstream energy company with a reported annual trading and distribution capacity of more than 1.2 million tonnes of hydrocarbon products. Prudent Energy has also previously been involved in a separate commercial dispute in the downstream oil sector. In 2022, Zenon Petroleum & Gas Limited petitioned the Federal High Court in Lagos to wind up the company over an alleged $6 million debt. Prudent Energy disputed the claim, saying the matter was subject to ongoing legal and arbitration proceedings.
Ibafon Oil and Gas, meanwhile, traces its origins to Ibafon Chemicals Limited, a joint venture established with Dow Chemical in 1979. The company later shifted from chemical importing into bulk-liquid handling and petroleum storage, with Ibafon Oil Limited formally commencing operations in 2005. What you should know
The EFCC recovery comes as the commission continues to intervene in financial disputes and alleged irregularities involving Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. In a separate but related development in the sector, the EFCC recently facilitated the recovery of $60 million from indigenous oil and gas company Nestoil Limited, with the funds paid to a consortium of lenders as part of efforts to resolve the company’s outstanding indebtedness, according to sources familiar with the transaction who spoke to Nairametrics. The payment represents the latest development in a long-running dispute between Nestoil and its lenders over outstanding facilities. The consortium includes Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Ecobank, Afreximbank, First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank, United Bank for Africa and Union Bank.
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The lenders said in June 2026 that Nestoil’s total indebtedness had risen to approximately $1.084 billion and N469.43 billion, maintaining that the obligations remained outstanding despite attempts to restructure the facilities.
