Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari on Friday praised a taxi driver Abubakar Hassan who returned a lost valuable to the owner for his ‘remarkable act of honesty’.

Hassan was reported to have offered driving services to an undisclosed person in Abuja. The passenger forgot some things in his vehicle.

The Abuja-based driver then traced the owner of the valuable things back to the spot they parted ways to locate and return it to the owner.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is delighted to learn about the remarkable act of honesty by Abubakar Hassan, a taxi driver in Abuja, who returned valuable property forgotten in his car by a passenger,” presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement.

“Even when the passenger had no way of tracing him, Mr Hassan went out of his way to seek her, and to return her possessions intact.”

Buhari urged Nigerians to emulate Hassan’s act of honesty and shun all forms of corruption.

“President Buhari commends Mr Hassan for his outstanding conduct, which should be an example for every Nigerian, from cab driver to government official,” Shehu said.

According to him, “His behaviour is a throwback to the Nigeria of some decades ago, before corruption and greed among public officials became accepted as normal, and polluted our national values.”

Buhari, as a presidential candidate in 2014, campaigned on three focal points of resuscitating the economy, security and fight against corruption. He commended Hassan for upholding national interest over personal.

“President Buhari appreciates Mr. Hassan for inadvertently making himself available as a shining example of Nigeria that this administration has battled and continues to battle for–a Nigeria where our national resources are not appropriated by private individuals, who have no consideration for anyone beyond themselves and their private interests.”