The smuggling of petroleum products has surged along Nigeria’s borders with the Republic of Niger as the neighbouring country grapples with one of its worst energy crises in a decade, an investigation by Daily Trust has revealed.
This comes as Niger, having exited the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to join the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS), faces fuel shortages.
But the Commercial Director of the state-owned Nigerien Company for Oil Products (Sonidep), Maazou Aboubacar, told AFP that the Soraz refinery in Zinder could no longer satisfy domestic demand.
According to him, the reason is principally down to the drying up of the flourishing black market supplied from Nigeria.
The country’s refinery only provides Sonidep with 25 tanker trucks of petrol a day, when the daily national requirement is up to twice that.
Domestic consumption was said to have been boosted by a cut in fuel prices introduced by the military regime that seized power in Niger in 2023.
Elsewhere, Niger’s junta has ordered three Chinese officials working in the oil sector to leave the country, two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters on Friday, in the latest move by regional military governments to assert greater control over resources.
The request for the departure of the Niger-based directors of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the West African Oil Pipeline Company (WAPCo) and the joint venture oil refinery SORAZ was communicated Wednesday, the sources said.
Daily Trust reports that outside the official quarters, people living around the border communities in Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno, said serious long queues have surfaced in Niger in the few filling stations that have petrol to sell.
On the other hand, smuggling of the product has increased even as some residents across the border rather buy the product from the black marketers instead of wasting hours at filling stations.
According to reports, government sources in Nigeria said Niger had sought Nigeria’s assistance, leading to the reported approval of 300 trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for delivery.
‘Smuggling on the rise at Maigatari border’
A community leader in Maigatari, a border town in Jigawa State, confirmed reports of a severe fuel shortage in the Niger Republic, stating that filling stations in the country had remained shut for nearly two months due to the unavailability of petrol.
He explained that a fuel station manager in Dingas, Niger Republic, had revealed that he had been without petrol for over 40 days, describing the worsening situation as unprecedented.
“Our people have found illegal ways to transport fuel to Niger. We are brothers, and with deep-rooted intermarriages, there is no way we can abandon each other in difficult times”, he said.
Efforts to obtain official comments from security agents at the border proved unsuccessful as some declined to speak, others were unreachable, and a few stated that they had been transferred to other locations.
Refugees, others smuggle fuel to Diffa, Zinder provinces
Findings by Daily Trust show that towns and villages in the Niger Republic bordering the Nigerian states of Borno and Yobe now rely on smuggled fuel from Geidam, Machina, Kanamma and other parts of Nigeria.
The bordering provinces, Diffa and Zinder, are most affected, but sources say the fuel supply extends to Maradi and other towns.
Aminu, a Nigerian refugee involved in fuel smuggling, said over 500 Volkswagen Golf cars were being used to transport petrol across the border.
He said: “We usually buy fuel from Geidam using a Golf car that only consumes three 4-litre gallons (12 litres) from Diffa to Geidam.
We fill our constructed car trunk with 90 litres and smuggle it into Diffa to sell. Diffa province relies totally on smuggled petrol from Nigeria. Many refugees have now found jobs in the smuggling business.
In Machina, a town bordering Damagaram in Niger, residents confirmed that border communities in Niger rely entirely on Nigerian fuel.
Ilyasu Yusuf, a commercial driver, said: “The situation here is not bad because of the fuel from Nigeria, unlike other provinces that have no border with us, like Agadez, where they face serious fuel scarcity.
“Border communities of Gidigir, Dumar, Malawa, Ngamdu and Fune totally rely on Nigerian fuel. They always come to Machina to refuel their vehicles before returning.”
Another driver in Geidam said smugglers were now replacing Golf car tanks with those of Volkswagen Passat to increase fuel-carrying capacity.
He added that fuel prices in Niger were skyrocketing.
“In Gidigir, Dumar, Malawa, Ngamdu, and Fune, one can get a litre of fuel for between 1,200 to 1,400 CFA francs, which is equivalent to N2,500 to N2,900. But as you go deeper into Niger, the price increases.”
Muhammad Sani, a resident of Kwangwalam, bordering Katsina State, also confirmed fuel increased smuggling between border communities which, he said, had increased since the diplomatic tensions eased.
Residents confirm fuel tanker movements at Illela border
Residents of Illela, a border town in Sokoto State, confirmed the movement of large numbers of petroleum tankers from Nigeria into the Niger Republic.
A resident, Malam Nuhu Illela, told Daily Trust: “Tens of cars used to cross over from Konni in the Niger Republic to purchase petrol from our filling stations. But now, we are seeing a large number of trucks loaded with petroleum products moving into the Niger Republic.
“Between Saturday night and this morning (Sunday morning), over 100 tankers were seen crossing into the country. Right now, there are about 20 trucks at the border post waiting for clearance,” he said.
A security operative at the border post, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the coming of petrol trucks into the Niger Republic “is not a new thing. This has been happening almost every day.”
The treasurer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Katsina, Alhaji Sanusi Moba, said they were not directly contacted for its movement into Niger.
He told one of our reporters that those who were engaged had to lobby for it, saying, “Everything is done from Abuja, and as you know, one has to seek approval, and you have to know your ways to get it.”
The cause of the energy crisis
A security analyst, Zagazola Makama, traced the crisis to a fallout between Niger’s junta and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Niger had been reliant on fuel from a Chinese refinery, the Société de Raffinage de Zinder (SORAZ), which was shut down in March 2024 following a confrontation between the junta and the CNPC. Since then, the country has been left with limited options for fuel supply.
Makama said in March 2024, CNPC granted the Nigerien government a $400 million advance, using future crude oil deliveries as collateral. However, when repayment time came, the junta, short on cash, opted to strong-arm China.
“They slapped billions of tax demands on SORAZ (Zinder Refinery Company) despite the state-owned Sonidep already owing SORAZ a staggering amount of debt. When China refused to provide additional loans, the junta retaliated by expelling Chinese oil executives from the country and seizing SORAZ’s bank accounts,” Makama wrote in an article on X.
The move backfired as the refinery, the backbone of Niger’s fuel supply, shut down, plunging the country into crisis.
Earlier, General Abdulrahamane Tchiani, head of Niger’s military junta, had accused Nigeria and France of collaborating with terrorist groups to destabilise his country.
In a Christmas Day interview, he specifically accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and a former Director-General of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai, of receiving undisclosed sums of money to allow foreign forces to infiltrate Niger.
Nigerian had authorities dismissed his claims, with Ribadu calling them “baseless and false,” while Information Minister Mohammed Idris described them as a “diversionary tactic” to cover up the junta’s failures.
FG silent on fuel supply to Niger
All efforts to get a reaction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the report that Nigeria sent 300 trucks of fuel to Niger proved abortive as Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, Acting Head, Crisis Monitoring and Public Communications, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, neither answered several calls nor replied to WhatsApp messages sent to his mobile telephone line yesterday.
On his part, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the media aide to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said: “I cannot independently verify the veracity of the story, I have been seeing it online like everyone else”.
Mixed reactions trail Nigeria’s fuel supply to Niger
Meanwhile, mixed reactions have trailed Nigeria’s decision to supply fuel to Niger Republic, with residents of border communities in Katsina sharing diverse opinions on the matter.
Some have expressed displeasure, citing the mistreatment of Nigerian traders by Nigerien security personnel.
A resident of Jibia noted that Nigeriens had been hostile towards Nigerians.
“I saw seven trucks on Thursday heading to the Magama border on their way to Niger,” he said.
Mansur Ishaq, a resident of Magama, believes that Niger’s decision to seek help from Nigeria exposes the emptiness of their president’s previous rhetoric.
“This should make them realise that Nigeria has valuable resources to offer,” he said.
Others, like Alh. Labo Mai-adua, view Nigeria’s assistance as a natural gesture between neighbouring countries with historical ties.
He said he was consulted to help mobilise trucks for transporting fuel to the Niger Republic.
