One person has been reportedly killed in a clash between operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service and suspected smugglers at the Toll Gate area of Sango Ota in Ogun State.
Reports revealed that the smugglers ambushed Customs vehicles conveying seized bags of rice and cartons of poultry products said to have been smuggled into the country through the Republic of Benin.
The smugglers, apparently uncomfortable with the killing of an unidentified man, allegedly stormed one of the check points of the Customs at Atan along Idi Iroko, and set three vehicles belonging to the service and a civilian ablaze.
Confirming the incident, spokesman for the Ogun State Customs Command, Abdulahi Maiwada, said the two vehicles loaded with suspected illegal imports were intercepted and seized in Sango area by operatives of the Federal Operating Unit, Ikeja.
He also confirmed the death of one person, but could not ascertained who fired the shot as he claimed that the smugglers were armed with dangerous weapons.
“The clash at the Toll Gate was as a result of some hoodlums we believed to be smugglers who waylaid FOU team on its way to Ikeja and launched a surprise attack on the team.
“In the melee that ensued, one person was confirmed dead but where the shot that killed him came from is yet to be ascertained,” he said.
Mr Maiwada explained that the operatives were ambushed at the Toll Gate area on their way to Customs warehouse in Lagos.
He added that the smugglers drove a Mazda car with registration number KTU 504 AM, and an unregistered Passat car while transporting 45 bags of rice and 258 cartons of turkey respectively, when they were intercepted by the Customs operatives.
“The team had intercepted two vehicles loaded with contraband – 45 bags of rice and 258 cartons of turkey – before the mob attacked them, probably to prevent them from taking the goods to Ikeja.
“When their ambush fell through, the hoodlums stormed our check point at Atan and set ablaze three vehicles belonging to customs and a civilian in the area,” Maiwada said.
He however, said the Customs operatives were able to transport the seized goods to the warehouse in Ikeja, Lagos State.
