Fuel Scarcity: IG Orders Arrest of Sellers of Product in Jerrycans, Containers

Yemi Akinsuyi in Abuja

Concerned by the untold suffering as well as the hazards emanating from the activities of black marketers, especially those who sell petroleum products inside plastic containers/jerry-cans, the Inspector-General of Police, IG Solomon Arase, has directed all Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and FCT/State Commands Commissioners of Police to arrest anybody found selling petrol and other petroleum products in such containers.

The IG, who issued the directive in Abuja on Tuesday, said apart from the hardship this act is causing to fuel buyers, it has also rendered some innocent and law-abiding citizens homeless due to fire outbreak from jerry-can petrol storage.

Arase, in a release signed by the Force spokesperson, ACP Bisi Kolawole, noted that fuel products such as petrol are highly flammable and if not stored and handled properly, can seriously endanger people, property and the environment.

While warning fuel attendants at filling stations to desist from selling petrol inside jerry-can/plastic container, the Inspector-General of Police said both the buyers and the sellers of the products will be arrested and prosecuted under the law.

He assured Nigerians of the Police readiness to fulfill its constitutional mandate and appealed for a more cordial relationship between the Police and the public.