No Life Lost in Custom /Smugglers Clash In Abule Egba Area of Lagos
The spokeman of the unit,Mr Jerry Attah in a press release noted that the report is the figment of the reporter’s imagination, and it is capable of misleading the general public hence the need to state the record clear to the public. CMr. Attah stated that On the 17TH of January 2018 ,at about 0530hrs, Operatives of the Federal Operations Unit acting on a tip-off traced one LT Bus Loaded with unspecified bags of smuggled foreign parboiled rice from Sango area and eventually stopped it at Abule Egba
The Custom image maker added that “Before he was finally halted at Abule Egba, the driver started shouting and making inciting comments that attracted mob action against the officers with different dangerous weapons such as broken bottles, stones and cutlasses. Obviously, he had driven to where he could get his associates to help attack the Customs Officers.
“Given support of the mob, he resisted lawful arrest and the other armed operatives fired shots in the air to disperse the raging mob but to no avail. As a responsible organization, the Officers retracted back to avoid any casualty.
He however affirmed that “We appreciate and thank God that no life was lost as at the time of the confrontation even though two of our Officers sustained injuries. For the avoidance of doubt, the fact that a smuggler has evaded scrutiny either by following unapproved route or compromising any Officer does not guarantee that the smuggled item will not be seized anywhere it is found by patrol officers whose duty is to ensure compliance.
The Controller, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Comptroller Mohammed Uba, while lamenting the misleading report urges media practitioners to verify their facts before rushing to the press”.
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