Smugglers Allegedly Attack Customs Kebbi Outstation 

SUSPECTED smugglers, Thursday, 21 March reportedly went berserk in Kebbi State and attacked a Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) outstation in Yauri.

Meanwhile, some suspects have been arrested by the state Police command in connection with the attack. 

The hoodlums were said to have embarked on a vengeance mission of forcefully retrieving 41 bags of foreign parboiled rice seized from them by operatives of the outstation. 

Disclosing this in a statement issued by the Customs Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Kebbi Area Command, SC Mohammed Tajudeen Salisu, said operatives of Yauri Outstation, at about 11:10 pm on the said date, in collaboration with its surveillance team, acted on information on the activities of smugglers at Yauri Waterside. 

“Upon arriving at the scene, 41 bags of foreign parboiled rice were seized, secured, and taken to the outstation”, the CPRO said, adding that, “afterwards, a mob attack was launched by the aggrieved smugglers by way of mobilising hoodlums to attack the outpost”.

Consequently, according to the CPRO, “Upon sighting the mob, the management contacted the Command and other sister agencies for reinforcement, which helped in containing the situation”.

In the ensuing melee, the Officer-in-Charge (O/C) of the outstation sustained a hand injury, while one AK-47 rifle, said to have been made away by the hoodlums, was recovered almost immediately, even as 29 out of 41 bags of the seized rice were taken away by the attackers.

The mob also vandalized the personal vehicle of the O/C, air conditioners, chairs, tables, windows, doors, and other essentials put in place to support the operations of the outstation.

However, to douse the heightened tension, “the Kebbi State governor hosted the Customs Area Controller on the way forward, and normalcy has since been restored“, the CPRO said

He further disclosed that the Customs Area Controller, Iheanacho Ernest Ojike, “has been in touch with the Commissioner of Police, and so far, some arrests have been made and an investigation was launched in view of arresting and prosecuting the criminals”.

Eighteen-Eleven Media