Customs, NMDPRA Shut Down 20 Stations Over Fuel Smuggling

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), has sealed 20 fuel stations across the country implicated in the diversion and smuggling of petroleum products.

This move was taken to curtail the smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, the National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS,    Assistant Controller General of Customs Hussain Ejibunu, disclosed that the operation’s crackdown on fuel smuggling has resulted in the closure of 20 fuel stations.

According to Ejibunu, six fuel stations in Lagos and 10 in Sokoto-Kebbi Express Road have been sealed, while five stations have had their licenses revoked.

He added that several suspected fuel smugglers have been arrested and are currently facing prosecution in courts nationwide.

Ejibunu further revealed that Operation Whirlwind has handed over approximately 16 tankers to NMDPRA in Adamawa for their involvement in smuggling and diversion activities.

Ejibunu stated: “When it comes to the quantum of arrests, we handed over about 15 or 16 tankers to NMDPRA in Adamawa alone. In Kano, we handed over about four tankers. In Kwara, we handed over three, and in Lagos, we handed close to six. Additionally, several fuel stations were shut down, including ten in Kebbi and four or five in Sokoto.”

He warned that filling stations caught dispensing fuel into jerry cans for onward smuggling outside Nigeria would face severe consequences.

“If caught, we call NMDPRA to seal the station, and we take custody of the products as evidence of the crime,” he stated.

Confirming the development, NMDPRA’s spokesman, Mr. Ene Ita, emphasized the agency’s strong collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service to combat the diversion and smuggling of petroleum products.