The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that the adulterated Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) in circulation has been withdrawn from the market due to public outcry.

The product callback included trucks in transit, according to the statement.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Authority confirmed that the methanol content in the withdrawn products exceeded Nigeria’s specifications.
Methanol is a common additive in gasoline and is usually blended in an acceptable amount, according to the report.

“The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (The Authority) wishes to inform the general public that – a limited quantity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as Petrol, with methanol levels exceeding Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain,” the statement said.

The limited quantity of the impacted product has been “isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit,” according to the statement.

To that end, the Authority said its technical team will continue to monitor and ensure that quality petroleum products are adequately supplied and distributed across the country, in collaboration with NNPC Ltd and other industry stakeholders.
The source supplier has been identified, according to the Authority.

While it did not name names, it did state that the Authority and NNPC Ltd would take further commercial and appropriate actions.
“NNPC Ltd and all Oil Marketing Companies have been directed to maintain adequate gasoline distribution in all retail outlets across the country.”

“In the meantime, the NNPC has increased its efforts to increase Petrol supply into the market in order to bridge any unforeseen supply gap,” it said.

Following a new outbreak of violence in Nyuwar, Gombe State, hostilities may have returned in remote communities bordering Gombe and Adamawa States in Northeast Nigeria.

Our correspondent has learned that tensions have been rising since a soldier was shot while attempting to repel an attack on Nyuwar by the Waja community on Tuesday afternoon.

Through a phone call, an eyewitness in Nyuwar confirmed to newsmen in Gombe, the State capital, that the soldier was injured while attempting to repel attacks on Nyuwar Community by the Waja community, which carried out a similar attack on Nyuwar and Jessu in April of last year. The attack on the community continued unabated even after the soldier was rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment, as the combined team of security operatives stationed in the community was reportedly outmanned by the attackers.

Several homes were said to have been touched, forcing women, children, and the elderly to seek refuge in neighboring communities.

Residents in Jessu, a neighboring community to Nyuwar, were reported to be fleeing the town in a hurry for safety. The Wajas reportedly attacked Nyuwar and Jessu, two Lunguda communities, in April of last year, forcing many residents to relocate to neighboring communities for safety.

Our correspondent’s attempts to obtain a police response to the latest incident were unsuccessful, as calls to the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mary Obed Malum (SP), were not answered or returned.
As of the time of filing this report, Julius Ishaya Lapes, the State Commissioner for Information, told our correspondent that he was still conducting consultations to determine the true situation. He promised to contact me as soon as he had more information.

A MRAP (mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle) had an accident in Anambra State on Tuesday, killing five soldiers and critically injuring others.

According to reports, soldiers from the 302 Artillery Regiment, General Support, Onitsha, were on their way to Ihiala to join their colleagues at a military checkpoint after receiving information that ESN operatives were planning to attack the checkpoint.
Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), launched ESN in December 2020 to protect the people of the South-East region from alleged northern terrorists and bandits.

The IPOB leader described the outfit as a replica of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun, earlier launched by South-West governors to curb insecurity in their region.

“The sole aim and objective of this newly formed security outfit known as Eastern Security Network are to halt every criminal activity and the terrorist attack on Biafraland,” Kanu had said.

“This outfit, which is a vigilante group like the Amotekun in the South-West and the Miyetti Allah security outfit, will ensure the safety of our forests and farmland, which terrorists have converted into slaughter grounds and raping fields.”