By Tunde Ojudun
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun I Area Command, has reported another violent assault on its operatives, less than a week after a similar incident in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area left two officers critically injured.
In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Zakari Chado, the latest attack occurred at about 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Officers on routine patrol along a bush path in Alapoti, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area, intercepted a convoy of motorcycles transporting smuggled foreign parboiled rice. Forty-six (46) bags of 50kg rice were seized and loaded into an official patrol vehicle.
As the team withdrew, they were ambushed by a large mob armed with Dane guns, stones, bottles, and charms, in a coordinated attempt to recover the seized goods. The officers stood their ground and repelled the attack after a tense thirty-minute confrontation. One assailant sustained fatal injuries, while another suspect claiming ownership of the rice was arrested and is currently under investigation.
The Command linked the rising spate of attacks to intensified anti-smuggling operations, which have recently yielded significant seizures of arms, ammunition, narcotics, and other prohibited items. It stressed that these violent reactions reflect the determination of criminal elements to resist lawful enforcement and undermine national security.
Reacting to the incident, Acting Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Olukayode Afeni, condemned the assault as “barbaric” and a direct challenge to the rule of law. He reaffirmed that such resistance will not deter the Service from fulfilling its statutory mandate, warning that perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted. Afeni assured law-abiding citizens of the Command’s commitment to their safety and the enforcement of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.