Rice Smuggling: Hoodlums Snatch Gun From Female Soldier, Hold Customs Officers Hostage

Smugglers and some hoodlums have held some men of the Nigeria Customs Service hostage and dispossed a female soldier of her gun in the Lafenwa area of Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

One of the vehicles of the NCS was also said to have been vandalised by the hoodlums, who were led by a notorious cultist popularly known as Abacha.

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It was gathered that the attack which was caused by the interception of a truck load of smuggled rice by Customs men happened on Friday night.

Sources told journalists that the truck was taken to the NCS office and some of their men who were left behind were held hostage by the hoodlums.

The hoodlums were said to have insisted that the truck load of rice should be released to them before they would free the NCS officers.

This was said to have forced the NCS to call for help from soldiers who came and engaged the hoodluns in a fight. It was not clear if there were casualties but one of the female soldiers was dispossesed of her gun and the hoodlums fled with it.

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The soldiers were said to have barricaded the road while searching for the gun.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident to journalists on Sunday night.

Oyeyemi said, “We did not arrest anyone; arrests were made by the soldiers. They have recovered their gun. We are on the trail of him (Abacha); we are looking for him seriously.”

He said normalcy had since been restored to the area while warning that security agencies would not allow any individuals or group of persons to trample on the law without being punished .

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