Some suspects who were arrested for stealing aviation fuel from the Aerotan Hangertank at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, have allegedly offered a N500,000 bribe to influence the investigation and prevent prosecution.
The suspects were arrested with a Honda salon car conveying fifty jerry cans of the fuel popularly known as Jet A1 by Sani and his men.
The police, however, rejected the bribe.
The spokesperson for the Airport Command of the Nigeria Police Force, CSP Daramola Kazeem disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
The statement commended the police DPO and his team for rejecting the bribe brought forward by the suspects to evade being prosecuted.
The statement read, “The Divisional Police officer of the Airport Division of Abuja, SP Umar Sani and his team have arrested one Murtala Abdulahi 46 years old with a Honda salon car with Registration number LAGOS GGE 680 EL conveying fifty jerry cans of aviation fuel popularly known as Jet A1.
“The arrest was made possible when on routine patrol at the Airport landside when the vehicle was flagged down for routine checks in the middle of the night at about 0300hrs of 06/11/2024.
“The JET 1 according to the suspects was siphoned from Aerotan Hanger tank at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
“His confession led to the arrest of other conspirators, Abdulahi Jibril 26 years, Kabiru Hassan 25 years and Habibu Abdulrahaman 42 years in other parts of Abuja.
“The Commissioner of of Police in charge of Airport Command, CP Aminu Baba Raji psc has commended the DPO and his team for rejecting the bribe of Five hundred thousand naira (N500,000,00) brought forward by the suspects to evade being prosecuted.
“He said the rejection aligns with the ethos of the Nigeria Police as led by the zero corruption tolerant Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, NPM PhD.
“The product which street value is put at about Two million naira has been impounded while investigation is about concluding to enable arraignment of suspects in court.”
