Violence erupted on Tuesday, when thugs suspected to be smugglers, clashed with men of the Nigeria Custom Service over the death of one of them at the Toll Gate Area of Sango in Ado/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
It was gathered that the thugs had waylaid the convoy of the Customs, which was carrying 45 confiscated bags of rice and 258 cartons said to have been intercepted while being smuggled in through the Republic of Benin.
Our correspondent learnt that trouble started when the hoodlums, in a reprisal attack over the death of one of them, stormed the Atan area Customs check point along Sango-Idi Iroko road and set two vehicles ablaze.
The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs, Abdulahi Maiwada, confirmed the incident.
Maiwada said that the Federal Operating Unit of the customs from Ikeja, Lagos State, intercepted and seized two vehicles loaded with bags of rice and cartons of turkey belonging to the suspected smugglers in the Sango area.
He said that in an attempt to prevent the goods from being taken to the Customs warehouse in Lagos, the suspected smugglers, ambushed the customs officials , resulting in a shoot-out that led to the death of one of them.
The Customs spokesperson, who claimed that the smugglers were armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, maintained that he had yet to ascertain the identity of the officer, who fired the shot that killed the victim.
He noted that the customs officials succeeded in moving the intercepted goods loaded in a Mazda car with the registration number KTU 504 AM and an unregistered Passat car to the warehouse in Lagos.
