Petrol Outlets Shut in Nigeria’s Northeast in Anti-Smuggling Protest

Nearly 2,000 petrol outlets in Nigeria’s northeast have closed to protest an anti-smuggling operation by the Nigeria Customs Service, which targeted some operators. Reuters reports that this shutdown, confirmed by Dahiru Buba, chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria for Adamawa and Taraba states, has forced motorists to buy fuel from the black market. The closures followed the impounding of tanker trucks and the shutting down of some fuel outlets on suspicion of smuggling petrol to Cameroon.