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Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta
Rice traders in Ogun State on Tuesday staged a protest following a clash between their members and operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service.
One person was reported to have died during the clash, which occurred along the Sagamu Interchange/Abeokuta Expressway, Ogun State.
No fewer than seven others were said have been injured in the incident.
Our correspondent gathered that among those who sustained bullet injuries were three customs officers and a soldier.
PUNCH Metro gathered that trouble started when some traders conveying rice to Sagamu from Abeokuta on Tuesday ran into customs operatives attached to the Federal Operations Unit, Ikeja, Lagos, who intercepted the goods.
One dead, seven injured as customs, smugglers clash in Abeokuta One dead, seven injured as customs, smugglers clash in Abeokuta
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One person has been confirmed dead, on Tuesday afternoon, in a clash between operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and suspected rice smugglers at the Sagamu interchange.
It was also gathered that seven others, including three NCS operatives, a military officer and three smugglers were seriously injured.
Tribune Online learnt that customs operatives from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), in Ikeja, Lagos, engaged the smugglers conveying foreign rice from Abeokuta to Sagamu.
The attempt by the Customs operatives to intercept the contraband were resisted by the smugglers which led to an exchange of gun duel.
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Hoodlums suspected to be smugglers on Tuesday in Lagos attacked and wounded three officers of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) and a military officer in Lagos.
The officers who were on anti-smuggling patrol on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway were attacked and wounded at dawn.
According to a press statement made available to newsmen by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Zone A of the unit, Theophilus Duniya, three Customs officers and a military officer attached to the patrol team sustained various degree of bullet wounds.
He stated that the officers had intercepted six vehicles laden with smuggled rice before they were attacked by the hoodlums.
Stakeholders in the value chain, including local processors and growers, have expressed dismay over the development, saying it would reverse the gains recorded in the last few years.
However, some observers have blamed millers for mopping up paddy rice and processing it in piecemeal, to attract more profit, thereby sabotaging the effort of the federal government in making rice affordable to Nigerians.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in December, 2020, directed that the four borders that were closed in 2019 be reopened. Some traders told our correspondents that even while the border closure lasted, the commodity was a common sight in almost every shop.