₦airaland Forum

PENGASSAN enforces Dangote Refinery shutdown


The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, implemented the shutdown of the Dangote Refinery plant on Sunday.

This was contained in an update on the striking union’s action against Dangote Refinery over mass sacking.

The union said its members have shut all oil installations nationwide.

It noted that the refinery plant is 100 per cent shut down; fertiliser plant train two is also 100 per cent shut, with train one running at 60 per cent capacity.

The union added that the diesel plant is still running at the moment. However, the development has not been confirmed by Dangote Refinery.

The implication is that crude and gas supply to the refinery have been disrupted.

Recall that in a statement on Saturday, Dangote Refinery described the PENGASSAN directive as economic sabotage.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on Sunday urged Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN to engage in dialogue to resolve the rift.

The dispute between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN started after the former sacked over 800 workers for belonging to the union.

At least five worshippers were shot dead when bandits attacked a mosque during early morning prayers in Yandoto village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The attack, which happened on Friday morning, sent a shock wave across the community.

Witnesses said the assailants stormed the mosque and opened fire indiscriminately, killing five people on the spot and leaving many others with gunshot wounds.

A resident, who spoke under condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the attackers also abducted an unspecified number of worshippers before fleeing into nearby forest.

Describing the incident as “barbaric and inhuman,” the source noted that some of the injured victims are currently receiving medical treatment and are responding well.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said he had not been briefed about the incident by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area.

I am currently at the stakeholders meeting of the Coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja. It’s a meeting of the Nigerian people against the oligarchs who promote poverty and insecurity in the land. -AA

The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed that it will on Friday arraign a leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Shamsideen Adio, known as Shameleon, on Friday over the alleged killing of a dispatch rider in Lagos Island.

SaharaReporters had reported that Adio, 55, was arrested after he allegedly descended on the victim during a scuffle on Tapa Street, Lagos Island, on September 17, 2025.

According to eyewitnesses, the assault began when the rider allegedly blocked Adio’s vehicle.

The situation quickly escalated, with Adio joined by friends and colleagues, who reportedly battered the rider mercilessly, sparking widespread outrage.

In a video seen by SaharaReporters, Adio was seen punching the poor rider repeatedly alongside his friend, while a crowd of onlookers watched without intervening.

According to eyewitnesses, the rider was struck repeatedly with a helmet and fists until he collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital but later died from injuries sustained in the attack.

Confirming the development, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Bababseyi Oluseyi, said the suspect is currently being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti-Yaba and would be arraigned on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly has also waded into the matter, insisting that the suspect and his accomplices must be prosecuted.

SaharaReporters reported that the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Adewale Adedeji, condemned the incident, describing it as “an act that must be condemned by every well-meaning Nigerian.”

“As the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation at the Lagos State House of Assembly, I stand to say that the action by Shamsideen is not only barbaric, shameful, inhuman, and heartbreaking; he must be prosecuted to a logical end by the police,” Adedeji stated.

He also charged the leadership of the NURTW in Lagos State, led by Alhaji Adekunle Mustapha Seigo, to suspend Adio and distance the union from the “lawless behavior” while investigations continue.

“The NURTW to which Shamsideen belongs should be a professional union and does not deserve members who are lawless, do not see their fellow beings as humans enough, or who think that their actions should be overlooked,” he said.