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| The man shot was lying on some bags of rice |
Commuters and passersby were caught in a
pandemonium that broke out on Wednesday at the Abule Egba area of Lagos State
when operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service opened fire on suspected
smugglers’ vehicles.
The shootings claimed the life of one Toyeeb
Olayiwola and allegedly left three others injured.
The officials attached to the Federal Operations
Unit, Ikeja, were said to have chased some vehicles conveying suspected
smuggled rice from the Sango-Ota area of Ogun State.
On getting to the Abule Egba under bridge
area around 6am, they reportedly opened fire on one of the vehicles.
Latest Reality Metro gathered that a bullet hit
the head of Olayiwola, who was lying on some bags of rice in the bus. He died
on the spot.
Not done, the officials were said to have moved
into a commercial tricycle park in the area and continued firing at the
occupants of the other vehicles, who had disembarked to protest the killing.
The suspected smugglers reportedly hurled stones
at the officials, while the shootings intensified.
The chaos was said to have caused confusion as
commuters and passersby scampered to safety.
A tricycle rider, who gave his name only as
Samuel, said the officials, numbering about six, later fled the scene in their
operational van.
He said, “The incident happened around 6am. I
learnt the Customs men were chasing the vehicles from the Sango area. On
getting to Abule Egba under bridge, they started shooting. The man that died
was lying on some bags of rice.
“It was a time people were going to work. People
were running helter-skelter amid gunshots. Apart from the man that was killed,
about three persons were hit by stray bullets. The injured were taken away on
motorcycles. During the shootings, the streetlights went off, which
heightened the confusion. After the Customs men left, the protesters created
bonfires on the road, which caused traffic.”
Our correspondent learnt that operatives of the
Oke-Odo Police Division, who mobilised to the scene, called for reinforcements
from the Rapid Response Squad and the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental
and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, to restore normalcy.
The RRS Commander, ACP Olatunji Disu, who
represented the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, said the corpse
and the vehicle were moved from the scene after the protesters were dispersed.
One of our correspondents, who was at the scene
around 8am, saw an Armoured Personnel Carrier, mounted by the roadside.
Splinters of shattered glasses also littered the
road.
A witness said many motorists abandoned their
cars and fled to safety due to the continuous gunshots.
“I saw some children crying in a car. The driver,
who was taking them to school, had fled due to the continuous shootings. One of
the motor boys who accompanied the bags of rice was also injured and
rushed to the hospital,” he added.
A commuter, Dele Adejare, said the shootings
defied civility, adding that the Customs officials should be disciplined.
He said, “I don’t see reasons why Customs
operatives would chase those people to the town. Were Customs officials not at
the border the smugglers passed through? Why didn’t they stop them there? It is
very wrong for them to shoot where there are passersby and commuters.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer,
SP Chike Oti, confirmed the killing, adding that the corpse had been deposited
in a mortuary.
He said, “Around 5.30am, Customs officials
were pursuing an alleged smugglers’ vehicle. They allegedly opened fire on the
vehicle and one of the occupants died from gunshot wounds. The incident led to
a protest, but the situation was brought under control by the police.”
However, the NCS Public Relations Officer at FOU,
Jerry Attah, denied the killing.
Attah, in a statement, said officials had traced
one LT bus loaded with unspecified bags of smuggled foreign parboiled rice from
the Sango area and eventually stopped it at Abule Egba.
He said the bus driver made comments that made a
mob to attack the officials with broken bottles, stones and cutlasses.
“Given the support of the mob, he resisted lawful
arrest and the other armed operatives fired shots into the air to disperse the
raging mob to no avail. As a responsible organisation, the officers retreated
to avoid any casualty. We appreciate and thank God that no life was lost
as of the time of the confrontation, even though two of our officers sustained
injuries.
“The fact that a smuggler has evaded scrutiny
either by following an unapproved route or compromising any officer, does not
guarantee that the smuggled item will not be seized anywhere it is found by
patrol officers whose duty is to ensure compliance,” the statement added.
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