Customs Auction 11,000 Litres Jerry Cans Of Fuel Seized From Vandals

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

The Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Operations unit, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday impounded eleven boats loaded with 11,000 litres jerry cans of petroleum products at Ijofin Creek in Ogun State and auctioned the jerry cans together with their contents at N33.3 per litre thereby selling each jerry can which was thirty litres at N1,000.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that hundreds of people trooped to the Federal Operations unit area office, Ikeja, to buy at least a jerry can of fuel.

Sister agencies like Federal Road Safety Corps, the Army, Air force, Lagos State Transport Management Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Prison Service personnel to mention but a few, stormed the place to buy their own jerry cans of fuel at the auctioned price. Even the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel came with two Toyota Hilux vehicles.

Some members of the public who spoke on the condition of anonymity complained that they were not attended to despite their seeing about three Customs vehicles driving to the selling spot to collect fuel more than three times whereas the civilians had not collected any jerry can.

The auction sales ended at about 5.30pm after those people who did not get the product complained and were told that the auction sales will continue the following day which is today being Tuesday.

From the look of things the auction sale may last more than three days as only one boat out of the eleven boats was offloaded and jerry cans still remained;/ten loaded boats were still on the waters.

On why no suspects were arrested, the Federal Operations Public Relations Officer, an Assistant Superintendent of Customs, ASC Jerry Attah said, ” it would not be easy to force the arrest of the suspects because it would have caused high casualties and outbreak of fire which would have caused serious damage to properties and loss of lives”. “You won’t be able to shoot at such a place considering the high inflammability of petroleum products, that was why we have not made any arrest as of now” Mr. Attah said.