TheCable

Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) nabbed one Sadiq Umar in Nasarawa state on Thursday, for allegedly posing as a staff of Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Robert Ibuh, NSCDC divisional officer in the state, said Umar was trying to extort money from the manager of a filling station, along Mararaba Road in Karu local government area of the state, when he was arrested.

“I have given specific directives to come and take him to the headquarters of the NSCDC,” he said.

“He committed a criminal crime and we are taking him to the headquarters for further investigations.”

Shehu Idris, manager of the affected station, lamented that extortion from illegal oil regulators was affecting their business.

Narrating his ordeal with the suspect, Idris advised operators of filling stations to be vigilant.

“When he came to our fuel station, he asked for the manger and when I came, he started telling me that he was sent from the DPR office in Lagos to monitor our operations,” he said.

“He started asking me questions like performance and standards of our fuel pump, certification, classification and accreditation of fuel station service permit, renewal application list and our fuel pump integrity test receipt.

“He said that if we do not have all that, he is going to close down our filling station. He said filling stations which failed in the certification or requirements that he asked usually gives him N40,000.

“As soon as he told me that, I knew that he was not a real DPR staff because no DPR staff will ask for money.”

Saidu Mohammed, spokesman of DPR zonal office in Abuja, said the suspect would be prosecuted.

Mohammed advised marketers and owners of filling stations to keep watch in order to fish out impersonators, adding that the activity was portraying the industry in bad light.

He also appealed to members of the public to be vigilant and monitor operations at filling stations.

“We received the report of impersonation of a person claiming to be a DPR staff and extorting marketers,” he said.

“We have collaborated with security agencies and marketers to get details of our staff on duty and that helped in apprehending the suspect.”

The suspect, a mass communication graduate, said he engaged in the act to raise money to start a small business of buying and selling.