By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna
Personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps in Niger State on Wednesday nabbed six trucks laden with 66,000 litres each of petroleum products and two others of 33,000 litres calibrations meant for fuel stations in parts of Niger State but were being diverted out of the state.
The vehicles which were without their number plates identities, were all suspected to have been diverted by dealers and drivers of the vehicles.
Armed personel of the NSCDC who intercepted the vehicles from their run away routes, led the vehicles back to Minna and to the state command of the NSCDC in Tunga Low-cost area of the state capital.
The eight tanker vehicles which have a combined haulage capacities of 462,000 litres of petrol, were parked on the neighborhood road, metres away from the NSCDC state command and guarded by armed personel of the Civil Defense Corps.
The mere sight of the vehicles attracted onlookers who milled around the roads to see the vehicles which were parked on the sides of the road within the residential neighborhood as vehicular movements were going on but with caution.
As at 8:00pm on Wednesday night, only personel of the Corp bearing their arms were sighted around the arrested vehicles.
As at the time of filing this report, the Corp had not issued any statement about the arrest even as an officer of the Corp pleaded with our correspondent to await official report from his superiors the next day.
Meanwhile, fuel scarcity across the state capital especially has continued to worsen with only a few fuel stations having the commodity for sale to motorists as long queues are common sight at any station dispensing fuel.
Only the NNPC Mega station along the western bye pass in the state capital and few other major retail marketers stations sell at the government’s approved pump price of N145 per litre.
Independent retail marketers sell a litre of fuel at between N200 to N230 where available.
