- Deputy Compt. Hussein Ejibunu
By Anthony Nwachukwu
Two tankers with 80,055 litres of poorly produced Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) have been intercepted by the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at Ijebu Ode in Ogun State.
Handing the seizure to the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) in Lagos Wednesday, Ag. Controller Hussein Ejibunu of FOU Zone ‘A’ said the drivers fled when they saw customs officers on patrol.
One of the trucks with registration number DBT 599 XA had 44,450 litres while the other with registration number USL 561 ZC had 35,605 litres of diesel, he explained.
According to Ejibunu, they discovered the documents being used to convey the diesel to have been forged, while a product sample analysis also showed it to be of poor standard. The agency then contacted NMDPRA, which also verified and confirmed both documents and products as fake.
Receiving the seizures, NMDPRA official, Patrick Musa, disclosed that on analysis, the products were found to be off-specification and below approved standards for use in Nigeria, and could not have been lifted from any approved depot in the country.
Meanwhile, Ejibunu has advised Nigerians to be patriotic and shun all forms of economic sabotage, warning that the FOU ‘A’ zone will remain out of bounds to smugglers, duty evaders and perpetrators of illegal activities.
