Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State

The Niger State Liquor Licensing Board has given liquor vendors up to Feb. 28 to obtain their licences or risk arrest.

Mr Yahaya Halidu, its chairman, gave the deadline on Monday in Minna, after visiting demolished structures hitherto used for the sale of liquor.

“Those selling alcohol without licences or with expired licences will be made to face the law because we believe that such places serve as meeting points for hoodlums.

“The board will no longer tolerate the arbitrary sales of alcohol at just every corners since there is a law in place to regulate the sales of the product,” he said.

He said that liquor selling points must also be located eight kilometres away from residential areas.

The board chairman said that hideouts, used by liquor vendors, had been discovered, and hinted that a joint enforcement team of security agencies were being mobilized to arrest and prosecute unlicensed operators after the deadline.

(NAN)