Suspected smugglers yesterday ambushed a customs patrol team at Yewa community in Owode in Ogun State, injuring five of the officials.
Yesterday’s attack on the customs men came barely 16 days after the same Ogun command lost an officer after he sustained machete cuts from suspected smugglers.
It was gathered that the ambush yesterday came after customs operatives stormed the community to evacuate some bags of rice suspected to have been smuggled into the country from Benin Republic.
The operatives stormed the town based on information that smugglers were stockpiling smuggled bags of rice in some houses in the community.
It was learnt that the smugglers opened fire as soon as they sighted the patrol team entering the community.
The sound of gunshots were heard as early as 8am, yesterday, forcing members of the town to scamper for safety, it was also learnt.
An impeccable source said five officers sustained varying degrees of injuries during that attack.
It was further gathered that a detachment of mobile policemen, soldiers and customs officials were brought in to restore normalcy.
The spokesman of the customs in the state, Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, who confirmed the incident, said the injured officers were being treated in a hospital in Ogun.
Maiwada said following the January 6, 2019 attack which claimed the life of an officer, the command embarked on a public enlightenment campaign to educate the public on the menace of smuggling and the implication of conspiring against the service.
