Following the scarcity of Petroleum Motor Spirit, also known as petrol that has cumulated in overcrowded fuel stations across cities in the country, the Ogun State Police Command says it is partnering with fuel stations across the state to curb the outbreak of violence.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, in a WhatsApp conversation with PUNCH Online on Thursday, noted that the move was to address possible outbreak of violence that may ensued from overcrowding.
PUNCH Online reported earlier that one Toheeb Eniasa was reportedly shot at a petrol station belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.
The incident, our correspondent learnt, happened late Wednesday and has left residents of the area in fear.
Our correspondent, who was at the scene of the incident gathered from residents that Eniasa was in the queue to get petrol when the incident happened.
While in the queue, two men, believed to be military officers, attempted to drive into the station to buy petrol even though they were not in the queue to get the product which was met with restrictions from other customers.
The ensuing fracas was said to have degenerated into a faceoff between the military personnel and Eniasa resulting in one of the military personnel firing a shot at him leading to his eventual death.
Odutola stressed that the meeting, which had representatives of major fuel stations from across the state, was held on Monday.
She added, “Representatives from various stations such as Mobil Filling Station, M. Olaoluwa Filling Station, Gateway Filling Station, MRS. Filling Station, A.A. Rano Filling Station, Teejay Filling Station, and Optima Energy Filling Station, among others, were present.
“The gathering complied with the directives of the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu, Ogun State Command, due to the current fuel crisis.
“Participants were advised to maintain order in their respective stations, prevent obstruction of traffic flow, discourage indiscriminate parking of vehicles, avoid rowdiness, and prevent any actions that could lead to chaos. These steps were to ensure security and orderliness during the sale of fuel.”
She concluded that contacts of Divisional Police Officers were given to the participants to aid in quicker intervention.