2:45:00 AM
There was confusion at Sycamore Junction, Ajara
Topa area of Badagry, Lagos State, after some
customs officers allegedly opened fire on some
residents.
It was learnt that the officers, who were attached
to the Federal Operations Unit, were chasing a
smuggler who had fled into the community.
Among the four people hit by stray bullets were a
motorcycle rider, Alayoade Arewayo and one John
Sonayo. While Arewayo survived and was rushed
to a private hospital in Badagry, Sonayo was said
to have died in transit from the Badagry General
Hospital to the Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital, Ikeja.
The other two, whose names could not be
ascertained as of press time, were reportedly
taken to a hospital in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Punch Metro gathered that immediately the
incident happened, the customs officers fled the
scene. They were said to have got reinforcement
from a military barracks in the area to forestall a
mob attack.
Arewayo, who sustained a gunshot injury in the
leg, said he was returning from a church
programme around 7.30pm on Saturday when he
was hit by a stray bullet.
He said, “I had a crusade programme at Marina,
Ebute area on that day. I had left the place for
home when it started raining. I decided to call at
a shop to buy noodles that I would take in the
night.
“I had hardly dropped off my motorcycle, when I
started hearing sporadic gunshots; people were
running helter-skelter. I thought it was armed
robbery. The people I wanted to buy noodles from
had also taken to their heels.
“As I fled for dear life, I was hit by a bullet in the
leg. I fell and was assisted to a hospital by my
friend that was with me. It was later I was told
that four people were shot and one person later
died.”
It was learnt that the customs officers neither
went to the community in their operational vehicle
nor wore their uniforms.
They were reportedly led by one DSC Jude.
A resident of the community, Mr. David Taiwo,
said he reported the incident at the Badagry
Police Division around 8.30pm, adding that the
Divisional Police Officer assigned a policeman to
visit the scene of the shooting.
He said, “We discovered that the customs officers
were from the Federal Operations Unit in Ikeja;
they were posted to Badagry. They were not in
their operational vehicle and they didn’t wear their
uniform. They came in a private car. They
pursued a smuggler, who loaded about eight bags
of rice.
“To effect arrest, they started shooting
sporadically. Four innocent people were hit by
bullets. One of them, John Sonayo, was taken to
the Badagry General Hospital, but he was referred
to LASUTH. It was on the way that he died. The
family members of the other victims took them to
Cotonou for treatments. The victims were not
smugglers.”
A community leader said no fewer than 10
residents had been allegedly killed in 2016 by
operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, adding
that the officers usually harassed residents.
“Sometimes, they move from house to house with
the help of soldiers. They ransack houses and
shops. People in Badagry now live in fear,” he
added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo
Badmos, confirmed that there was a shooting
incident in the area, adding that the police had
written the customs authorities for details.
She said, “We have written to the customs
authorities to furnish us with relevant facts that
will aid our investigations into the matter.”
However, an official told Punch Metro that those
shot were smugglers, adding that the customs
service recovered two cars filled with smuggled
rice.
He said, “What happened that day was that some
customs officers, attached to Iyafi checkpoint,
apprehended two unregistered Passat Station
Wagon loaded with smuggled rice along Sycamore
Hotel Road. One of the vehicles was attacked by
the smugglers en route to the customs office.
“Some of the customs officers fired several shots
to secure their safety, thereby injuring two
persons, while the two cars were forcefully
released by the smugglers. On
