The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested an accountant of Oando Filling Station, Dutse Alhaji, Abuja over alleged racketeering of the new Naira notes.
According to a statement by the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, said on Friday, the accountant was arrested as part of the commission’s continued efforts to rid Nigeria of elements who have taken advantage of the scarcity of the new Naira notes to swindle unsuspecting Nigerians.
The ICPC Monitoring Team had earlier received a tip-off that the filling station had deliberately disconnected its Point of Sale (POS) services to force motorists to pay for petrol in cash. Motorists without the new notes were then directed to a POS operator directly opposite the filling station to access cash.
Upon investigation, ICPC operatives found that the POS did not only belong to the accountant of the filling station, but it was also charging a very high exorbitant rate as commission against the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
During the operation, the sum of One Million Naira (N1,000,000) was discovered with the POS operator, which the ICPC directed should be paid into a bank account.
The accountant and the POS operator were both arrested by the ICPC and have been granted administrative bail by the commission.