Nigeria customs service vows to arrest hoodlums after attack

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Kebbi has vowed to capture and prosecute alleged hoodlums who attacked its officers at the Yauri outstation in the state.

SC Mohmmed Tajudeen-Salisu, the command’s spokesperson, confirmed this in a statement delivered to journalists in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday.

He said, “In the late hours of Thursday, March 21, at about 11:00 p.m., a combined team of Yauri outstation and surveillance received credible information on a suspected smuggling activity at Yauri Waterside.

“Upon arriving at the scene, 41 bags of foreign parboiled rice were seized, secured, and taken to the outstation.”

This, he added, led to a mobilisation of hoodlums to attack its outpost coordinated by the aggrieved smugglers.

Tajudeen-Salisu added that the management then contacted the command and other sister agencies for reinforcement, which helped to control the situation.

“During the attack, the Officer-in-Charge (OiC) sustained a hand injury; one AK47 rifle was carted away but retrieved shortly; and 29 out of 41 bags of the seized rice were taken away by the attackers.

“The mob went further to vandalise the OiC personal vehicle, the outstation area command’s chairs, tables, windows, doors, and other essentials put in place to support the operations of the outstation,” he said.

The spokesman added that the Customs Area Controller, Iheanacho Ernest-Ojike, had been in contact with the Police Command and said that some arrests had been made. “while an investigation is ongoing to arrest and prosecute the criminals.”