Customs officers kill driver over rice smuggling in Ogun

By Eric Patrick 


yesterday, in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, following the 
death of a commercial driver identified as Saubana Onila allegedly shot by officers of Nigeria Customs Service, who were allegedly after smugglers at Kobape area, along Sagamu-Siun Expressway.

According to ERICGOSSIP, apart from the commercial driver 
that lost his life, no fewer than four persons sustained
 injuries, leading to a traffic jam that lasted for hours along
 the expressway.

Scores of protesters brought the corpse of the driver to 
Quarry Road, Abeokuta Command of the Customs and tried
 to force their way into the Command.

It, however, took the combined effort of men of Nigeria
 Army, Police and men of Ogun State Vigilance Service to prevent the irate protesters from gaining entrance into the Command.

An eyewitness, Shola Josiah, said Saubana and four 
other drivers, including himself, had left Kuto market in Abeokuta around 9:30a.m, with their vehicles loaded with
 25 bags of rice, heading to Sagamu.

He added that Customs officials started pursuing them at
Sowo village, Kobape Road.

He said: “We had left Kuto Market in Abeokuta with our
vehicles loaded with 25 bags of rice each. When we got to
Sowo village, we saw Customs’ vehicle with men inside it.

“I thought there won’t be any issue because we normally 
pay them N5,000 on each trip. Before I knew what was happening, they had started chasing us. They caught up 
with me, while Saubana’s car tyres were blown out with gunshots and his Mazda 626 car eventually somersaulted
 into a ditch.”

He, however, alleged that customs operatives still shot
Saubana at close range, after he crawled out of the 
wreckage of his car with a bullet injury in his thigh.

Josiah, who said his vehicle was seized and driven to the State Command of the Customs, stated that two other
 drivers escaped.

He lamented Saubana’s death, noting the father of four
 was an easy-going person.


We’re investigating—Customs

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the
 Command, Usman Abubakar, said the allegation was not
 true. According to him, “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.

“Police have been invited and we are on top of the situation.

The matter is under investigation by the Customs and the
police. So after thorough investigation, we will give you full

details of what happened.”