13 filling stations in Badagry, Lagos State, have
been sealed for allegedly tampering with their
meters in order to cheat customers.
Two Total filling stations, an MRS filling station
and two Energy filling stations were allegedly
involved in the act.
Others are Dalco, Royal Stream, Lasbat, Ramos,
JWMS, Jackos, Olubisi Obinja and NYBO filling
stations.
The affected filling stations reportedly under-
dispensed fuel between 0.4 and 1 litre in every
10 litres of petrol sold to unsuspecting members
of the public.
They were sealed on Thursday by officials of the
Department of Petroleum Resources backed up
by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps, Lagos State Command.
According to Punch, on Sunday the command
had received reports from some customers,
lamenting that the fuel sold to them at the filling
stations did not commensurate with the amount
they paid.
“But because the NSCDC does not have the
power to seal filling stations, the DPR was
informed about what was going in the filling
stations. On Thursday, two NSCDC teams gave
DPR officials security back-up to the Badagry
area.
“It was discovered that 13 filling stations
dispensed fuel below the standard metering.
They have been sealed up and their owners have
several questions to answer before the DPR,” the
source added.
A member of the team that carried out the
operation said that the stations manipulated
their meters, thinking nobody would know.
“The filling stations are on the outskirts; so the
operators were cashing in on the location to
perpetrate the act,” he said.
The state commandant of the NSCDC, Tajudeen
Balogun, said the corps would continue to fight
every manifestation of crime in the state and
provide necessary support to sister agencies.
He said, “We got information that some filling
stations were under-dispensing, which means
that if you pay for 10 jerrycans of fuel, what you
eventually get is about eight jerrycans. We did
further investigation and confirmed that it was
true. By the law, it is the DPR that normally
seals up filling stations.
“We contacted the DPR and gave them security
back-up to Badagry. Two Total and Energy filling
stations were sealed up. Others were Dalco MRS,
Royal Stream, Lasbat, Ramos, JWMS, Jackos,
Olubisi Obinja and NYBO filling stations. They
have been sealed up by the DPR working in
conjunction with the NSCDC.”
The DPR Zonal Director, Mr. Wole Akinsoye, who
confirmed the sealing, promised to get back with
details of the operation.
“The extent of the under-dispensing in those
filling stations ranges from 0.4 to 1 per 10 litres.
Any filling station that under-dispenses will be
closed down because that is clear cheating,” he
added.
