Officers of the Federal agency, Customs were said to have killed a commercial motor driver, Saubana Onila, a father of four, at Sowo village, on the Kobape-Siun-Sagamu expressway when he was conveying bags of rice to some customers in Sagamu.
Consequently, scores of protesters stormed the state headquarters of the NCS along Quarry Road in Abeokuta, threatening to dump the remains of the late transporter within the agency premises.
However, Usman Abubakar, Public Relations Officer of the Ogun Area Command denied the claims that the Customs killed Saubana in the operation.
Abubakar who maintained that the importation of rice through the land border had been banned, urge members of the public to support the agency in their fight against smugglers
The Customs PRO told journalists that investigation into the incident was ongoing. “The information at my disposal is that one of our patrol teams went on routine patrol this morning along Kobape-Sagamu Interchange. Based on credible information to them that some smugglers were coming through that route, they waylaid the smugglers.
“On sighting Customs vehicle, the occupants of those vehicles now started on top speed. In the course of the operation, one of the vehicles fell into a ditch. The occupants of that vehicle left and ran away. Our men now brought the vehicle down to Abeokuta station. So, that is the information I have.
“There was no shootout with anybody. Our men have no cause to shoot anybody. They are well trained and they operate according to international best practices.
“When they pursued those smugglers, there was a rat race between the drivers of those vehicles. Immediately the first one fell into a ditch, our men picked the vehicle and left others. So there was no shootout between our men and anybody.
“The police have been invited, we are on top of the situation. The matter is under investigation by the Customs and the police. So, after a thorough investigation, we will now give you full details of what happened.”
It was gathered that the commercial motor driver, Saubana, who was formerly the Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Grammar School Unit, Abeokuta, had conveyed some bags of rice from the popular Kuto park in the state capital en route Sagamu.
An eyewitness, Sola Josiah, on the other hand, claimed that the Customs men shot at the late driver’s Mazda 626 car which made him lose control of the vehicle, thereby causing the vehicle to somersault several times.
The eyewitness further alleged that the Customs men went ahead to shot the driver again in cold blood and escaped from the scene.
Also according to him, four other people who sustained injuries in the incident, had been taken to a hospital for medical attention.
Later on, The state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, led a team of senior officers to the Customs Office to restore normalcy.
