Adulterated petrol: Senior lawyers demand compensation for motorists

Some senior advocates and rights activists have called on the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which is the sole importer of petrol into the country, to compensate motorists who bought adulterated fuel.

The federal government had through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Tuesday said adulterated petrol, fuel with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain.

In a statement, it said the supplier had been identified and appropriate sanction would apply.

It also said oil marketers had been directed to ensure sufficient supply of quality petrol in all outlets in the country.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said the government was wrong to have given the NNPC the monopoly of petrol importation, insisting that the oil firm cannot escape liability.

He added, “If it is confirmed that there’s negligence on the part of the importer of the petroleum products, surely all those who bought the fuel are entitled to pursue their remedies against the agency especially where it affects vehicles among others.

“They would be liable and this is because they have the monopoly of importing petroleum products to the country. So the citizens are limited in terms of their choice and so in that regard they have the responsibility of ensuring that they import what is suitable for use by the consumer.

“The NNPC can’t escape being held liable and not just the NNPC, I think the government itself and the reason is because there’s no reason to monopolise the importation of petroleum products. Also, the reason we are experiencing this is because the government has failed to repair our refineries.”

Another senior lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), reportedly said the NNPC must compensate those who bought the contaminated petrol.

Falana advised victims to lodge a complaint with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

He said, “The NNPC has to compensate consumers. They (consumers) should lodge a complaint with the consumer protection council.  Victims can institute an action against the NNPC. The NNPC also has the right to sue those that sold the fuel to them.”

Also, Norrison Quakers, another senior advocate, said it was irresponsible for the NNPC to have imported contaminated fuel, adding that they could be dragged to court for doing so.

Quakers further argued that the marketers who bought the petrol from the NNPC ought to be compensated as well.

The senior advocate added, “If I was an independent marketer and I bought the product from NNPC for the supply and suddenly it turned out to be adulterated fuel , the NNPC is duty bound to reimburse and compensate me for my loss. I could start first with an administrative process to demand for the reimbursement and when they refuse to do that I can now institute an action in that regard because I bought it from them.

“Secondly, a car owner who goes to a filling station to buy petrol and his car develops a fault because some cars are very sensitive, can sue the supplier as well as the NNPC. It’s like a chain; you identify the primary source and the secondary. Honestly, it is highly irresponsible for the NNPC to have imported adulterated fuel. It means standards have really declined. How do you determine the fuel that is being sold, is it not at the point of purchase?

“How do you end up buying adulterated fuel of that magnitude? Those are questions begging for answers. The president must intervene, heads must roll. It is quite painful in the age of the way we do things in this country.”

Similarly, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, Ibrahim Rafsanjani, said this was scandalous to Nigeria, calling on the anti-corruption agencies in the country to investigate the matter.

He said, “I think this is an indictment on the NNPC, the sole importer of petroleum in Nigeria. They must be made to account for how it happened. Taxpayers’ money is used to import this petrol. This also goes to show the poor regulatory and supervision mechanism.”

Speaking on the implication of the development, an energy law specialist, Prof. Dayo Ayoade, noted that aside from the huge adverse environmental impact of such contaminated fuel, the product had already knocked the engines of some motorists.

He said, “It is a big issue because the contaminated fuel has to be taken out of the system. It has to be extracted from the filling stations and depots and disposed off. This is because since it is contaminated, you can’t sell it to another person.

“It has to be disposed in an environment that is sustainable, and in a proper manner. Now, do we have the equipment to properly take care of this contaminated fuel? That is a big issue.

“Secondly, there is the issue of who is liable for the cost of replacement of the engines that have knocked? Because contaminated fuels have negative impact on engines and I heard that the engines of some customers have knocked.”

However, the spokesperson for the oil firm, Garba-Deen Muhammad, was said to have declined comments when asked if the NNPC would compensate motorists who had already used the contaminated petrol.