Over 1,800 fuel outlets shut in Nigeria’s northeast over smuggling dispute

Nearly 2,000 petrol outlets were shut in Nigeria’s northeast to protest against an anti-smuggling operation that targeted some operators, the local head of the petroleum marketers association said on Monday, forcing motorists to buy from the black market.
Dahiru Buba, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for Adamawa and Taraba states, said petrol stations stopped operations after the Nigeria Customs Service impounded tanker trucks and shut some fuel outlets on suspicion they were smuggling petrol to
neighbouring Cameroon.
Black market fuel vendors in Cameroon, Benin and Togo have for years relied on cheap gasoline smuggled from Nigeria.
When Nigeria scrapped a petrol subsidy last year, that black market trade collapsed, but the product has become cheaper again after Nigeria capped the price since June 2023 despite its currency sharply weakening.