Customs officers chase smuggler, shoot bus conductor dead

Tragedy struck in the Abule-Egba area of Lagos yesterday when a bus conductor identified as Toheeb Olayiwola who was in a vehicle loaded with smuggled rice was shot dead by men of the Nigerian Customs Service.

According to a witness, the men of the Nigerian Customs Service had been in a hot chase trying to stop the bus with number plates LND685XJ, coming from Sango in Ogun State when the incident occurred in the Abule Egba area of the state.

Recounting the incident, the witness who gave his names as Abiodun Ogundairo said the Custom officers started shooting sporadically when they got to Abule Egba.

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He said; “The commercial bus, which was loaded with bags of rice, was en route Mushin from Sango, when the Customs officers stopped the bus and started shooting.

“My friend was inside the bus to assist in offloading the rice, but he was shot dead when he tried to escape from the scene. The bus was hired to deliver the rice to Mushin.”

Reacting to the incident, Mr. Jerry Attah, Customs Public Relations Officer, Federal Operations, stated that the team trailed a vehicle loaded with smuggled rice to Abule-Egba, a suburb of Lagos, and that Customs men were mobbed by smugglers, who prevented the officers from carrying out their duties.

A policeman from Oke-Odo Division, who was at the scene of the accident, said that no official statement could be made until the arrival of the Divisional Police Officer.

 

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