The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has ordered all Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, FCT and State Command Commissioners of Police to arrest anybody found selling petrol and other petroleum products in plastic containers.
Arase gave the order in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, on Tuesday in Abuja.
It said that apart from the hardship this act was causing to fuel buyers, it had also rendered some innocent and law abiding citizens homeless as a result of fire outbreak.
The statement noted that fuel products such as petrol were highly flammable and if not stored and handled properly, could seriously endanger people’s lives, property and the environment.
It warned fuel attendants at filling stations to desist from selling petrol inside jerry cans and plastic containers.
According to the statement, not only the sellers of petrol in black market would be arrested but also the buyers, and prosecuted under the law.
It assured Nigerians of the Police readiness to fulfill its constitutional mandate and appealed for more cordial relationship between the Police and the public.
