Youths, Customs officials clash in Kwara over attempt to arrest ‘smuggler’
Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) in Ilorin, on Wednesday night, clashed with some aggrieved youths over an attempt to arrest a trailer driver, who was allegedly carrying contraband. The incident, according to City News findings, occurred around 9pm at Offa Garage area in Ilorin. A witness, Mohammed, who spoke with our reporter, said […]
Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd)
Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) in Ilorin, on Wednesday night, clashed with some aggrieved youths over an attempt to arrest a trailer driver, who was allegedly carrying contraband.
The incident, according to City News findings, occurred around 9pm at Offa Garage area in Ilorin.
A witness, Mohammed, who spoke with our reporter, said the customs officials chased the trailer to the area and started shooting when it was close to the roundabout of Offa Garage.
“They shot at the tires and the driver lost control. They didn’t want residents to intervene but this arrogance needs to stop. People are suffering; we don’t want security agents killing us again.
“We all came out and they went to reinforce with three additional vans but we stood our ground. They later checked the trailer and saw that it was chicken feed inside,” he added.
“This is how they will tell us it is stray bullet but there won’t be a stray bullet if they don’t fire indiscriminately within a highly populated area like this.
“If they had done their job well, there wouldn’t be any contraband in the cities,” he said.
When contacted, the spokesman for the service on the state, Zakari Chado, who confirmed the incident, however denied that officers fired at the tires of the trailer.