Operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NSC) on Wednesday allegedly shot a man dead at Oko-Oba area of Lagos State.
The operatives were said to have opened fire after they sighted a bus suspected to be carrying smuggled rice.
It was gathered that the victim, who was a driver of the bus was reportedly shot in the head and died immediately.
In a statement, the assistant comptroller of Federal Operation Unit,
A. M. Adamu said on his Twitter account that peace has been restored to
the area after the incident.
He tweeted: “RRS, Lagos Fire Service, Lagos Taskforce, LSNSC, DPO,
Oke Odo police station are all in Abule Egba where somebody was reported
to have been shot. The area is calm now. Police and other agencies are
on ground.”
“We noticed custom vans were following us and the driver
stopped. When we stopped, our driver got down to meet them while the
passengers were in the bus. Immediately about six of them came down of
the van, rounded our bus while we are still in it and they started
shooting,” He recounted the terrible ordeal.
The driver of the commercial bus, Yinka Ajayi who spoke to SRTV
disclosed that the rice he was carrying belonged to a trader who bought
them at Sango market and was taking it to Agege Market to sell. He added
that the customs van has ‘Nigeria Customs Service, Ikeja Patrol Van’ written on it.
“I am a bus driver and I go through Agege to Sango every day.
On each trip, I carry people and sometimes traders that buy food
materials at Sango market like today.
“This morning, I was carrying 10 bags of rice and 5 passengers
when I noticed that customs were following me. I stopped at Abule Egba
and one of the two customs vans came to block me at the front while the
other stayed at the back. I was asked what I have in the bus I told them
it is a passenger’s rice which was bought at Sango Market.”
He continued, “As I was still talking to them, some of the
custom officers came down and started shooting at my bus with passengers
inside the bus. Three people were hit, one of them was hit at the head
and he died immediately and others that got wounded have been taken to
the hospital.
“I was also beaten and hit with the butt of a gun. The patrol
van has Ikeja Patrol van written on the it. One of the customs officers
was identified to be Fola while another officer is Tunde.”
Baffled as to why he was stopped, the bus driver questioned why Customs would be operating within the local communities. “I am not coming from Seme border, the rice was bought at Sango market, so why should customs be stopping us?” He asked.
Saheed Olayemi, another bus passenger who was injured in the
shootout said the Customs officers fled the scene after discovering that
someone had been killed in the bus.
“We were going from Sango to Agege when the customs stopped us.
They just started shooting us immediately without allowing us to come
down of the bus. I sustained a wound on my neck in the process of
running from being hit by a bullet.
“The customs ran away when they noticed that one of us has been
shot in the head and died and passers-by are coming to the scene,” He said.
Muyideen Olayiwola, brother of the deceased who was also at the scene of the incident disclosed that his wife just gave birth.
“I received a call that my brother has been killed by customs, I
was shocked because he still spoke to me this morning. His wife just
delivered a baby on Saturday and it is unfortunate that this is
happening today.”
Confirming the incident, Commander of Rapid Response Squad, ACP
Tunji Disu stated he deployed his men to the scene immediately to
restore law and order in the area.
He acknowledged that the boy was killed while others were injured
but couldn’t ascertain if those involved are men of the Nigeria Customs.
He added that the Commissioner of Police would swing into action on the
matter.
Similarly, Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti said
the Police are on the situation and would get a report of what happened
in the area. He, however, established that the boy was shot and killed
by officers of the Nigeria customs.
The Police PRO said, “I confirmed there was an incident between
the customs and some people in a commercial bus alleged to be
smugglers. Police have taken over the situation and our men have been
sent there to maintain law and order. He added that investigations into
the matter would commence immediately.”
The body of Toheeb Olayiwola has been taken to the morgue at Ikeja General Hospital.