One Blessing Eze, a 37-year-old widow has been sentenced to two months imprison by an Abuja Grade 1 Area court for hawking petrol (black market) along Abuja-Zuba expressway.
The prosecutor, Babajide Olanipekun, told the court on Monday that a team of police officers attached to Kubwa Area Command Headquarters, led by ASP Zakari Adamu, on April 4, arrested and brought the accused to the police station, with 109 litres of fuel which they abandoned while trying to escape.
“The accused hawked fuel in front of Conoil Petrol Station, along Dei-Dei-Kubwa expressway, even when they are aware that the practice has been prohibited within the FCT.
“Such act constituted an embarrassment to the Federal Government of Nigeria and danger on the public highway,” the prosecutor added, noting that the offence contradicts section 199 of the Penal Code.
The accused person pleaded guilty to the crime.
The judge, Mohammed Marafa, however, gave the accused person the option to pay fine of N2, 000.
According to Marafa, ‘the act constitutes threat to security, annoyed and endangered the lives of other members of the public.’
Meanwhile, the accused person, a widow, told the court that she was forced into the business in order to take care of her children.
She said, “My husband is dead and I am left with children to cater for. No money anywhere so I decided to use this means to survive.”
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