Metro
Residents set Customs vehicles ablaze after four die in Sokoto accident
Angry residents of a community near the Nigeria Customs Service checkpoint in Sokoto on Sunday set ablaze two vehicles belonging to the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) following the killing of four persons in an auto crash in the state.
The accident occurred at a Customs checkpoint in the Asara Unit of Illela command on Sunday morning.
An eyewitness told journalists that two Toyota Avensis and a Golf Salon collided while trying to avoid Customs officials at the checkpoint.
“One of the drivers suspected to be carrying rice and vegetable oil from Illela end of the border in an attempt to evade arrest, eventually ran into a customs checkpoint located at Asara village.
“They (customs) obstructed the driver in a bid to stop the vehicle caused the driver to lose control. The car had a head-on collision with an incoming vehicle while the other car coming from behind crashed into the two.
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“Four persons died on the spot while six people were seriously injured in the accident.”
The angry villagers, who blamed the Customs officials for the accident, destroyed properties and burnt the Service vehicles at the scene.
The spokesperson for the Nigeria Customs Service in the state, Tahir Balarabe, who confirmed the incident to journalists on Monday, said two vehicles belonging to the agency were burnt by the mob.
By: Ijeoma Ilekanachi
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