The wrath of the law has descended on a driver, Oladejo, with the Pace Setter Transport Services (PTS). He is currently held by the police in Oyo State for allegedly siphoning fuel from a government bus and selling same to a vendor.
It was gathered that the management of the Pace Setter Transport Services, also known as Ajumose shuttle buses, an initiative of Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to revolutionise transportation system in the state, had apprehended the driver on Wednesday after he was caught red-handed while committing the alleged offence. He was said to have been handed over to the police for thorough investigation.
Besides, the female fuel vendor, Tawakalitu, who purportedly bought the fuel from Oladejo, is currently helping the police in their investigation. She confessed that she bought the siphoned fuel from the driver, adding that she still had 30 litres of diesel she bought through the means in her shop at Muslim/Academy area of Ibadan.When The Nation visited the Eleyele Police Command, where the suspects were detained, the driver pleaded guilty and begged for forgiveness.
He promised never to engage in such illicit practice again. The suspect, in his late 60s, spoke with his family members and a team from PTS that visited the police station at the counter.
When contacted, the Acting General Manager of PTS, Mr. Akinwole Akinleye, said the incident occurred on Wednesday October 7, adding that the driver claimed that the bus he drove had a tyre puncture so that he could siphon the diesel.
He said: “The machinery we set in motion has made it extremely difficult for any driver to siphon fuel. In this incident, the driver said he had punctured tyre and he used that window to siphon the fuel. But he was still caught.
“We handed him over to the police so that we can get a thorough investigation done. The police have established that the incident actually happened and both the driver and the conspirator are in the police net. What the police recorded and that we have been able to retrieve is about 50 litres.”
He explained that the company had to involve the police because the internal law of the company could only deal with the driver and not those who bought the siphoned fuel from him. “We cannot not use the laws of the company alone in this case, because it can only deal with our drivers. What about the people that buy the fuel from them outside? This is why we involved the police.”
Akinleye, who noted that the company trains its drivers regularly and would continue to instil the best practices in them, stated that Oladejo was not the first driver to be found culpable siphoning fuel in the company. Similar cases, according to him, had occurred and many of the drivers had either been sacked or dismissed when they were found guilty by the company.
Akinleye added that the suspect’s file was checked and several warnings were found in connection with purported misconduct.
He counselled members of the public that “the buses are meant for social services and we should understand that it is for the common good of the populace. We should not encourage the drivers to do things that are inimical to the services that they are rendering. The public should clear off from our buses and drivers that do nefarious activities.”