Metro
Customs men pounce on police, 3 killed
Three residents of the Ijora Badia community of Lagos State have been reportedly killed by men attached to the Federal Operations Zone A, of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in Ikeja, when the custom officers stormed the area shooting sporadically while policemen were carrying out a separate operation.
Reports say the custom officers were invited over by some of the residents of the Hausa community after policemen arrested 10 Hausa men a day earlier following a raid on a black spot at the Whitesand area of Ijora in the Badia community.
In trying to secure the release of the arrested men, the custom officers reportedly shot sporadically but they were met with a stiff resistance by the police who returned fire in the gun duel that allegedly claimed three lives.
A resident of the community who witnessed the shootout but spoke on the condition of anonymity said; “Some customs officers have killed three persons where the Divisional Police Officer of Badia Police Division was performing an operation.
“The customs officers were invited by some Hausa miscreants affected by the operation because the DPO had arrested 10 persons of Hausa extraction over alleged criminal activities.
“When the customs officers came today, they started harassing some of us. Suddenly, they started shooting at us and killed three people.”
Read also: Father of chained 9-year-old boy arrested
But the state Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the incident said only one person died following the shootout while two other were responding to treatment in hospital.
“The community and the police were on joint operation of raiding blackspots within the community and arresting suspected criminals yesterday.
“In the process, some officers of the NCS, who were on convoy with officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had an encounter with some of the hoodlums.
“They fired some shots and three people were hit by the bullets. As a result, one death was recorded while two others are receiving treatment in the hospital. Policemen are not involved.” She said.
RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...