The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in the evening of Sunday, February 17, explained the situation that degenerated into the killing of a citizen of the country at the Shagamu interchange along Ijebu Ode area of Ogun state earlier in the day.
The agency denied the reports that trended earlier in the day showing that one of its officers killed a passenger for refusing to give bribe.
In the video that trended, the voice of a passenger could be heard screaming and saying the victim was killed because of N5,000 which the customs officers at the interchange demanded and which led to an altercation.
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In his reaction, the spokesperson of the Nigerian customs service, Joseph Attah, said: “The attention of (NSC) has been drawn to a disturbing video going viral with conflicting narratives.
“It is painful and totally unnecessary to loose life in anti-smuggling operations.
“Today at Shagamu interchange along Ijebu Ode, attempt to obstruct lawful performance of duty by passengers of a commercial bus, a white Toyota Hiace suspected to be carrying bales of used clothing led to the death of a young man (Godwin) and serious injury of a customs officer, ASC1, Destiny Onebamho.
“Contrary to some narratives, the young man was not a passenger of the bus but a good citizen who always come to fetch water for customs patrol men anytime they return to the base.
“Preliminary finding indicate that it was during the skirmishes and struggle with the passengers to disarm the officer that the riffle discharged and hit the friend of the customs (Godwin) who lost his life,” he explained.
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The customs spokesperson said that the service was already in touch with the bereaved family.
“Sadly, it should be noted that while attention shifted to the dead and the wounded, the passengers who filmed with inciting commentaries boarded their vehicles and left, leaving the wrong impression that it was one of them that was killed,” he said adding that the wounded officer was now under intensive care at the hospital, while the patrol team had been recalled to the office for further investigation.
The Nigeria Customs Service reaction is below:
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Nigeria Customs Service, recently disclosed that it intercepted bales of uniforms, tear gas canisters and other paraphernalia of the Nigeria Police Force, a little over a week before the start of the 2019 elections.
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