Again, smugglers machete Customs officer over seized rice in Ogun

Dare devil rice smugglers, at the weekend attacked a team of Customs officers on patrol at Sango Ota area of Ogun state, injuring one of the officers with deep machete cut in the process.

The attack is coming barely six weeks after an Inspector of Customs, A. Onwegbuzie was gruesomely murdered by suspected smugglers in Ogun and the officer’s body dumped in a pit.

It was gathered that the operatives attached to the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ had conducted a wee hour operation where they intercepted truck load of foreign parboiled rice being ferried to Sango market by the suspected smugglers.

According to an eyewitness account, the team had successfully seized one of the trucks and was in the process of intercepting others when the smugglers along with some urchins in their numbers ambushed the operatives.

In the process, the urchins macheted one of the officers and fled with his rifle.

“As soon as the officer became unconscious, the urchins took away his gun and fled when they sighted other patrol teams” the source said.

Acting Controller of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Kehinde Ejibunu, who confirmed the attack, said the officer sustained deep machete wound in his head but added that the seized rifle has been recovered.

Ejibunu said the officer almost paid the supreme prize for refusing to allow smuggled rice into the country, but is presently being treated in an undisclosed hospital.

“Why kill a customs officer over bags of rice that are not good for human consumption?” he queried.

“The rice in question is poisonous. The people of Benin Republic do not eat such rice that is considered harmful to human health.

“We will fish them (perpetrators) out from their hideouts and they will be made to face the wrath of the law.

“I have informed the Olota of Ota and I have told him that I don’t want to see a single grain of smuggled rice in that area.

“We have a joint security team on standby and we will soon storm the market in Ota if the attackers of my officers are not brought before me,” he said.