Smugglers kill rider; youth unleash violence, spoil for war with customs officers

Some youths on Friday went on the rampage after a suspected smuggler hit and ran down a commercial motorcyclist at Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun.

Because the youth believed the smuggler was trying to ecape from customs officers chasing him, they took the protest to a hotel where those officers usually lodge, and attempted to burn it before the police intervened.

The Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Ogun 1 Area Command , Ahmed Oloyede, said officers of the command had no knowledge of the incident.

But that didn’t prevent the carnage that followed the death of the rider/

Cars and motorcycles were destroyed, and traffic stopped along the Lagos-Abeokuta highway.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.

“They set about three vehicles on fire today. There is a hotel at Papa where they said customs officers do lodge; they went there, making efforts to burn the hotel.

“But the Commissioner of Police (CP Lanre Bankole) has gone there today with DC operations and other officers of the command. Calm has been restored,” Oyeyemi said.

He said some people have been arrested.

“We have been warning people to desist from taking laws into their hands. If anything happens, you cannot just go on rampage and believe you can be destroying people’s properties. Some arrests have been made and we are going to make an example of those arrested,” he said.