The family of Owombo Segun John, a Customs officer who exposed how refined petroleum products, particularly Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, are being trafficked to some other African nations has accused the customs authorities of maltreatment.
A member of the family said the detained officer has been forced to undergo psychiatric tests in detention.
“He is being maltreated at the Customs headquarters; he was forced by Customs authorities to undergo psychiatric tests and he is being forced now to undergo treatment for ‘madness’ (mental illness). They claim he needs psychiatric treatment,” the family member said.
Owombo earlier released a video in which he narrated how he arrested so many smugglers on Wednesday, November 2, at Malabo Checkpoint on Belel Road, Adamawa state.
In November, it was reported how Owombo was transported to Abuja from Adamawa State to meet with the Comptroller General of Customs while in detention.
Speaking recently, his brother said Owombo informed him that his life was under threat.
He also described the claims by some people that the officer was suffering from a mental disorder as untrue.
He said, “My brother is a very brilliant man. Someone that was posted to Adamawa and has been working there since, how can you now say he is insane? That is a lie. They are just trying to cover up.”
“The claim that he was found naked is also not true. He told me that immediately after he released the video, he was attacked by some customs officers and tanker drivers. He even told me that if he is allowed, he has some evidence to back up his claim,” he added.
When asked why Owombo was calling on Bola Tinubu, the ruling APC presidential candidate, in his video, he said Owombo did that due to inexperience.
“I also found that not good. He should have followed a proper channel to report what he found and not necessarily call out anybody’s name,” he said.
In November 2019, the NCS announced a directive that restricted petroleum products from being supplied to fuel stations within 20 kilometres of the borders.
Prior to that, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company had raised the alarm about the increasing number of filling stations in border towns, saying they were funnels for fuel smuggling to neighbouring countries.
With millions of Nigerians grappling with periodic fuel shortages, the porous borders, spanning over 17,000 kilometres, make it possible for the product to be smuggled to these neighbouring countries easily.
According to a recent report by Deutsche Welle (DW), a German public state-owned international broadcaster, smugglers are having a field day selling Nigerian fuel at cheaper rates than the conventional petrol stations in Cameroon.
The DW report noted that although the exact volume of smuggled Nigerian petrol to Cameroon was not known, local media reports in Cameroon put the ‘black market’ illegal trade at $5 million (about N1.905 billion) every year.
According to a survey by the German media in Maroua, the capital city of the Far North region of Cameroon, stolen fuel from neighbouring Nigeria is readily available for sale.
Even when Nigerians are faced with shortages, it was learnt that the supply is constant in Cameroon.
In August, Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, estimated that every day, over 400,000 barrels of crude were stolen in Nigeria.
According to Sylva, massive crude oil theft is affecting Nigeria’s ability to meet OPEC’s daily quota.
Sylva is the junior petroleum resources minister while President Muhammadu Buhari is the senior petroleum resources minister.
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