One dies as customs, car dealers clash in Kwara

Some customs men on duty.
| credits: Cargocleaning.blogspot.com

One person was confirmed dead while another person sustained injuries following a pandemonium that erupted at the Saw Mill area of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Tuesday as officials of the Nigerian Customs Service clashed with some car dealers.

Though witnesses said two people were feared dead following the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Command, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the death of one person.

One of the witnesses told PUNCH Metro that trouble started when some customs officials chased a vehicle, said to be conveying suspected smuggled cosmetics products, into the Ilorin metropolis.

The source said that the driver of the vehicle resisted arrest while the customs officials, in a desperate attempt to apprehend him, fired gunshots.

It was said the shots killed the driver immediately while his assistant sustained injuries.

The source said, “An unidentified customs official shot the driver of the vehicle and he died, while his assistant sustained injuries.

“The driver is also a car dealer, who has just arrived from a trip from Benin Republic. He was stopped by customs officials on the highway. However, the suspected smuggler did not obey the customs men and sped off. The officials chased him and later shot the two occupants of the vehicle and ran away.”

Our correspondent gathered that some car dealers and youths mobilised and barricaded some roads leading to the operational office of the customs service, behind the Ilorin Praying Ground.

The aggrieved car dealers and youths were said to have wielded weapons and protested to the customs office.

They were said to have met strong resistance from customs men and anti-riot policemen that were deployed to restore normalcy in the area.

It was gathered that the policemen fired shots into the air to scare away the protesters.

Our correspondent also gathered that roads linking the customs office were blocked by the customs officials and armed policemen.

It was further gathered that authorities of a school located close to the office, the CAC Junior Secondary School, hurriedly closed the school for the day to ensure the safety of the pupils.

The PPRO confirmed the clash between the customs officials and the car dealers to PUNCH Metro. He said one person died during the crisis, adding that his remains had been deposited at a hospital morgue.

“Only one person died. We have not made any arrest, but normalcy has returned to the area. The police will not tolerate people taking laws into their hands,” he said.

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