An officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) attached to the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ has been killed by suspected daredevil smugglers in Fagbohun Village, Idogo/Ipaja, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
It was reported that the incident happened on Tuesday when the Officers, who were from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ arrived in the village for an operation.
According to reports, the smugglers on sighting the patrol team, unleashed terror on them as two officers got missing in the commotion.
On Wednesday, the lifeless body of one of the missing officers was reportedly found in a river near Ajegun Iyaloosa village without his rifle, while the other is still being searched for.
The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’, Theophilus Duniya, has confirmed the incident, saying some suspects have been arrested.
He said “The attacked officers are from FOU. One is confirmed dead, while the other one is still missing’’.
Duniya added that “It happened yesterday (Tuesday) in the afternoon. They were on information patrol when they were attacked. It was an unprovoked attack that ended the life of one and the other one is still missing’’.
He further stated that “The one that was found dead, his rifle was missing; but we can’t say for the other one that is still missing until we get to the end of it. At the moment we have some suspects in custody in relation to that murder.”
Duniya appealed to Nigerians to desist from attacking customs officers, who he said were doing the lawful job assigned to them by the Federal Government.
“The message to the masses has always been that these officers are on lawful duty. They didn’t assign themselves. They are officers of the Federal Republic, and what the Federal Government said through our laws is what they are out to enforce. They are not there to fight anybody; they are not there of their own will. They are taken there to enforce the government fiscal policies. Anywhere Customs Officers are seen, if they cannot assist them to carry out their operations, they should not attack them. Because these people have families. They come from villages and communities as well and they are human beings. They also deserve a right to live,” he stated.
However, Duniya said he would not release the identities of the two officers yet, saying their families must be contacted officially.
“I cannot release their identities to you because at the moment, I’m not sure if their families have been contacted. So we need to reach out to their families officially before we go to the press,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents of Fagbohun village were said to have fled the community as of Wednesday morning.
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