The Inspector general of Police, Solomon Arase, has directed the arrest and prosecution of anyone caught selling fuel in plastic containers commonly called jerry cans.
Arase gave this order in a press statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the Force spokesperson, ACP Olabisi Kolawole.
The police boss said the directive became necessary following his concerns on “untold suffering as well as hazard emanating from the activities of black marketers, especially those who sell petroleum products inside plastic containers/jerry-cans.”
Kolawole said in the statement that the IGP “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.”
Arase explained that “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.”
He 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 Nigeria’s number police officer said both the buyers and the sellers of the products will be arrested and prosecuted under the law.
The IGP assured Nigerians of the Police readiness to fulfil its constitutional mandate and appealed for a more cordial relationship between the Police and the public.
