From Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
An officer of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) has been declared missing while an operational vehicle was also vandalised following a gun duel between the NCS Operatives and suspected rice smugglers in Ororunlere village in Ado - Odo - Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The fierce encounter which occurred on Thursday afternoon, compelled the Operatives who were on routine patrol to beat a hurried retreat as the attackers overwhelmed them.
It was alleged that hoodlums were engaged by suspected smugglers, who also shot sporadically in the direction of the Operatives to evade arrest.
The Daily Crucible gathered that the officer was shot from the rear and in the ensuing commotion, the entrapped NCS patrol team made distress calls to the army to rescue them.
But before the arrival of the military personnel and other units of Customs including Federal Operations Unit (FOU), requested by the Customs Area Comptroller (CAC), the hoodlums had already vandalised one of the official vehicles attached to the team.
The missing said to be the team's official driver, is identified as CA I (T) Taiwo J Odeyemi and has not been found as of the time of writing this report.
The Public Relations Officer for Customs Area, Ogun 1 Command, Hammed Oloyede, who confirmed this in a release, said officers were attacked while on routine patrol along Olorunlere village, near Alapoti, Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area.
Hammed said investigation is on going while effort is also being made along with other security agencies and critical stakeholders to locate the whereabouts of the missing officer and rescue him alive.
He noted that the patrol team intercepted some vehicles loaded with bags of foreign parboiled rice and the suspected smugglers sensing their loss on sighting the patrol team, attempted to evade arrest and started shooting sporadically at the Officers.
According to him, there was "serious exchange of fire between the two sides."
"The patrol team called for reinforcement. However, before the intervention from other units, they were overwhelmed due to the numeric strength of the smugglers/hoodlums. In the ensuing commotion, the team tactically withdrew to enable the arrival of the reinforcements teams.
"On the arrival of the military personnel and other units of Customs including Federal Operations Unit (FOU) as requested by the CAC, the hoodlums had already vandalised one of the official vehicles attached to the team. It was later discovered that an official driver, CA I (T) Taiwo J Odeyemi was missing and has not been found as at the time of writing this report.
" The CAC strongly warned smugglers and their supporters that the incessant attacks leaves Officers with no other choice than to use appropriate force to deal with these new wave of criminal attacks on personnel performing their statutory functions.
"The Command is not deterred by this and will step up its offensive against those whose interests is to make profits at the expense of the Nation. The CAC has vowed to ensure that those behind this attack face the full wrath of the law and justice," he said.
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