IG Orders Arrest of Sellers of Fuel in Jerrycans, Containers

Yemi Akinsuyi in Abuja
Concerned by the untold suffering as well as the  hazard of the activities of black marketeers, 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 plastic container.

The IG, who issued the directives in Abuja on Monday, said apart from the hardship this act is causing for 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, Bisi Kolawole, noted that fuel products such as petrol are highly inflammable 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 IG said both the buyers and the sellers of the products would be arrested and prosecuted under the law.

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