Smugglers Strike Again: One Dead in Fresh Attack on Customs Officers in Ogun
Kathy Kyari
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun I Area Command, has recorded another violent attack on its officers, barely one week after a similar assault by suspected smugglers left two personnel with life-threatening injuries in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The latest incident occurred at about 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, 31 January 2026, when officers on routine anti-smuggling patrol along a bush path at Alapoti, in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area, intercepted a convoy of motorcycles conveying smuggled foreign parboiled rice.
According to a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Zakari Chado, the patrol team seized 46 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice and had successfully evacuated the items into an official patrol vehicle while withdrawing from the area.
However, the officers were subsequently ambushed by a large mob armed with dangerous weapons, including Dane guns, stones, bottles, and charms, in what the Command described as a coordinated attempt to overpower the patrol team and recover the seized goods.
The officers were said to have maintained composure and repelled the attack after an intense confrontation that lasted about 30 minutes. During the clash, one of the assailants sustained injuries and later died, while a suspect who claimed ownership of the seized rice was arrested and is currently under investigation.
The Command linked the growing spate of attacks on its personnel to the renewed and intensified anti-smuggling operations across its area of responsibility. It noted that recent enforcement actions have resulted in significant seizures of arms, ammunition, narcotics, and other prohibited items, provoking violent resistance from criminal elements determined to undermine lawful enforcement and national security.
Reacting to the incident, the Acting Customs Area Controller, Ogun I Area Command, Deputy Comptroller Olukayode Afeni, condemned the attack, describing it as barbaric and a direct assault on the rule of law.
He reaffirmed that such acts of resistance would not deter the Command or the Service from carrying out its statutory mandate, warning that those responsible would be identified and brought to justice.
Afeni also assured law-abiding members of the public of the Command’s unwavering commitment to their safety and to the enforcement of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
The incident comes just days after Customs officers were violently attacked at the Akokoro area of Iwoye in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, where two officers sustained severe injuries and are still receiving medical treatment, highlighting growing risks faced by enforcement officers in the line of duty.
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