Customs officer shoots clearing agent in Lagos

Pandemonium broke out on Wednesday along the Mile 2-Tin-Can Expressway following the alleged shooting of a clearing agent by a customs officer.

The customs officer attached to a patrol van on a pin-down point along the access route to the Tin-Can Island Port.

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Though the identity of the injured clearing agent could not be ascertained as at press time, he was said to have been rushed to a hospital at Kirikiri town.

It was learnt that the victim was driving a Toyota RAV 4 2019 model and was driving towards Mile 2 when the customs officers accosted him.

There was a hot exchange of words between the customs officers and the victim who refused to handover the intercepted vehicle.

It was learnt that the customs Officer sped off in their patrol van when it became obvious that bystanders were going to carry out mob action on them.

Our Correspondent reliable learnt that the customs officers were from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja and that they were on enforcement duty when the incident occurred.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, FOU Zone A, Theophilus Duniya, said it was a mob action against the officers who intercepted the vehicle.

He said some urchins had attempted to prevent the officers from carrying out their lawful duty when they tried to take away the impounded vehicle to the office.

“The urchins pelted the officers with stones and had attempted to snatch a rifle from one of the officers. One of the guns fired in the struggle to take away the rifle from the officers.

“In the confusion that followed, the mob took the injured person away while the officers escaped from the scene,” he added.