A motorist, Prince Tijani Dauda, has disputed the account accompanying a News Central report about alleged bribery at the NNPC filling station in Zone 1, Abuja, saying it omitted important details of an incident he witnessed.
In a statement responding to the post published on October 9, 2026, Dauda said his vehicle was directly behind that of the driver featured in the interview.
According to him, he was queuing to refill his vehicle with compressed natural gas (CNG) when military and paramilitary vehicles arrived and were allowed to proceed ahead of other motorists. He further noted that, the driver interviewed by News Central subsequently requested permission to bypass the queue but was refused by an attendant, who explained that the priority access was reserved for the military vehicles.
“An argument followed. The station attendant and other people intervened and asked the driver to leave the queue to prevent further disruption,” he said.
Dauda maintained that this exchange provided important context missing from the caption accompanying the interview.
“During the incident I witnessed, I did not see anyone pay a bribe to obtain access. I saw military vehicles receive priority, followed by a dispute when another driver sought similar access and was refused,” he stated.
News Central’s post described commercial drivers seeking cheaper petrol and attributed an allegation of payments to bypass the queue to an interviewed driver. Dauda, however, said the queue he joined concerned CNG refuintervie He acknowledged that his observations did not cover every transaction at the station or events before his arrival.
“My account is limited to what I personally observed. I cannot speak for every transaction at the station or determine what happened before my arrival,” he said.
Dauda urged News Central to seek clarification from the station’s manager and other motorists who witnessed the incident, and to update its report to reflect the relevant context.
He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership in the recent petrol discount initiative aimed at easing fuel costs, while recognising NNPC’s longstanding contribution to petroleum supply and distribution.
The eyewitness statement challenges the portrayal of the incident but does not independently establish whether bribery occurred elsewhere at the station. Responses from News Central, the interviewed driver and the station’s management would help clarify the differing accounts.
