Over 1,800 Petrol Outlets Closed in Nigeria’s North-east in Protest of Customs’ Anti-Smuggling Operation
The North-east region of Nigeria may face a severe fuel shortage after nearly 2,000 petrol outlets shut down on Monday, June 24, 2024.
Dahiru Buba, the IPMAN Chairman for Adamawa and Taraba states, informed Reuters that the closure of petrol stations was in response to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) impounding tanker trucks and shutting down several fuel outlets on suspicions of smuggling petrol to Cameroon.
Historically, black market fuel vendors in Cameroon, Benin, and Togo have relied on cheaper gasoline smuggled from Nigeria.
Under “Operation Whirlwind,” Customs initially seized some tanker trucks belonging to IPMAN members but released them following protests from the association. Despite this, more trucks were seized and several fuel stations closed, leading to the mass shutdown of outlets in protest.
“We wrote to them (Nigeria Customs) again, but there were no responses. That is why we decided to go on strike,” Buba explained, noting that over 1,800 outlets had stopped operations. “This is our business, and we cannot be quiet when our members are treated this way,” he added.
However, Mangsi Lazarus, the Customs spokesperson for Adamawa and Taraba, told Reuters that the tanker trucks were seized due to their involvement in petrol smuggling.
