The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR has uncovered 45 illegal petrol stations in Adamawa State used for smuggling of petrol products to neighboring countries.
The DPR Controller in charge of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim A. Ciroma, made the disclosure yesterday in Yola, the state capital, during a tour to checkmate the activities of petroleum marketers in the state.
He said the reason for the tour was to curtail the large influx of petroleum products demanded by major marketers who are aiding the illegal stations to smuggle petrol products to neighboring countries like Cameroon Niger, and Chad.
According to him, despite the three months warning given to the owners of the illegal stations to dismantle them, it fell on deaf ears as they refused to comply.
He said as a result of the development, he has written the names of the illegal stations and their addresses to the security agencies for prompt actions, but still awaiting for them to carry out the action.
Ciroma said such illegal activities could aid the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists and other criminals at the borders of Cameroon where insurgency is more prevalent.
He lamented that marketers demand the products more than the capacity of their fuel stations to sell to the illegal stations at an exorbitant price of N350 to N400 per litre with the intention to smuggle the products to neighboring countries for more gains.
“The federal government spent huge amount to refine the products, l don’t see the reason for some unpatriotic Nigerians to smuggle the products to others countries for more gains thereby aiding all forms of criminalities in border areas,” he said.
Ciroma said the DPR was collaborating with other security agencies to curtail the activities of smugglers who illegally smuggled the products outside the countries.