Nigerian lawyer and human rights activists, Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned the 48-hour ultimatum given by the Department of State Services to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to end the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.
Recall, on Thursday, DSS Spokesman, Peter Afunanya, said failure to make petrol available to Nigerians would prompt the services to activate its operations across the country.
However, according to Channels Television, Falana, on Friday, described the ultimatum as an empty threat.
He said the NNPCL had the responsibility of supplying petroleum products to all parts of Nigeria, adding that if the organisation failed to carry out its duty, the Federal Government was obliged to call the officials to order and possibly relieve them of their responsibilities.
“(As) you know, every year, at the end of the year – once it is Christmas – there must be artificial supply of fuel,” he said. “The ultimatum will not work because there is no sanction for impunity in Nigeria.
“The State Security Service does not operate under the law in Nigeria. It does its own thing. There is nobody to call the agency to order. They will know that it’s just an empty threat because nobody is going to be arrested and prosecuted to teach a lesson.
“The other day, toxic fuel was brought to Nigeria. The government promised, ‘We’re going to deal with them, it will never happen again.’ Was anybody arrested? Was anybody prosecuted? It’s the same thing because they know the people behind it. It’s like oil theft. They know them.”
He, however, acknowledged that the possibility of security threats due to the continued presence of long queues at petrol stations.
