The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, says its operatives have arrested five filling station managers, allegedly selling fuel above the government-regulated price.
The Acting Chairman of the commission, Balarabe Mahmoud, disclosed this at a press briefing on Wednesday.
He said over the past week, the commission had been receiving formal complaints from members of the public concerning the issue of the redesign of naira notes and fuel scarcity that continued to linger.
He said operators of the commission found out that some filling stations sold fuel above government approved price, while some adjusted their litre to extort unsuspecting customers, by selling the product at high price.
Balarabe expressed worry on the attitude of some filling stations for rejecting the old naira notes, despite the Supreme Court order.
He said, “We went out to monitor the activities of such filling stations. We all know of the supreme court order (which was earlier slated today to determine the deadline, but it further extended the deadline to 22nd March, 2023 to determine the deadline of the old naira notes.
“People should continue to use the old naira notes as legal tender in line with the order of the Supreme Court.”
He added, “We discovered that some filling stations are conniving with PoS operators to extort customers.
“Each filling station is supposed to have a PoS for its customers’ choice. But unfortunately, they bring someone with PoS who will be charging customers for using PoS in filling station premises. This is extortion.”
He noted that during the operation, one PoS operator was also apprehended.
According to him, the commission would use its law to conduct operations at banks, and any bank found rejecting old naira notes would be sanctioned according to law.