According to Maiwada, the suspected smuggler later came with his mobilized compatriots to attack armed Customs officers.
File Photo
At least, one person has been shot dead by an officer of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) at Owode Yewa area of Ogun State, as many sustained various degrees of injuries.
The death, DAILY POST learnt, was as a result of the fracas that broke out between some suspected smugglers and officers of the NCS around 2 am on Monday.
The situation, it was learnt, has generated protest from people of the area.
The killing, DAILY POST recalls, is coming barely two weeks after three students of Ojumo Community High School were reportedly killed, while market women were injured when Customs officers were conveying a ‘tokunbo’ vehicle they said was smuggled into the country.
Ihunbo is a few kilometres from Owode, the scene of Monday’s incident. But the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun 1 Command, said the officer who fired the shot acted in “self-defence”.
A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, said officers of the NCS had earlier seized some ‘prohibited items’ from the suspected smuggler, who he said took to his heels.
According to Maiwada, the suspected smuggler later came with his ‘mobilized compatriots’ to attack armed Customs officers.
“In the process, the suspected smuggler and owner of the smuggled items engaged an armed officer in a physical battle in a bid to disarm him in the ensuing struggle.
“The officer appropriately exercised his superior power in self-defence, leading to the death of the yet to be identified smuggler.
“As at the time of filing this report, the deceased have been deposited in an undisclosed mortuary, while the exhibit is secured in Government Warehouse pending further investigation,” Maiwada said in the statement.