Some Customs officers at the Seme Border area of Lagos State escaped death by the whiskers last week after angry youths from a village attempted to lynch them because one of the officers allegedly shot and killed a man and injured two others.
The deceased villager has been identified as Friday Poku.
According to an online report; The Eagle Online, the youths were said to have carried the corpse to the front of the Customs office in the area, demanding that the killer officer should come out of hiding.
Some Customs officers at the Seme Border area of Lagos State escaped death by the whiskers last week after angry youths from a village attempted to lynch them because one of the officers allegedly shot and killed a man and injured two others.
The deceased villager has been identified as Friday Poku.
According to an online report; The Eagle Online, the youths were said to have carried the corpse to the front of the Customs office in the area, demanding that the killer officer should come out of hiding.
Eyewitness accounts claimed that Poku was driving into Nigeria in a red Volkswagen Jetta car marked GGE 81 AH, with three of his friends when he was shot.
The villagers claimed that the killing of Poku happened just three months after another man was also allegedly killed by another Customs officer.
The death of Poku enraged many of the villagers.
A source said: “They made bonfires in the middle of the roads, making it difficult for road users to have access to or from the border.”
The youths, who were not particular about the exact Customs officer who killed Poku, attacked any Customs officer they sighted, forcing Customs officers at the Seme border to scamper for safety.
It was gathered that Poku was stopped by some Customs men as he was heading inward Nigeria at a check point and nobody could say what occurred next before gun shots rented the air.
A source added: “Everybody was shocked when one of the Customs officers suddenly pulled out his gun and shot Poku point blank. “He died instantly.”
Poku’s friends, who were momentarily rooted in shock, recovered and tried to catch some of the officers who, realising that Poku was dead, bolted.
As the crowd pursued them, some of the Customs officers were alleged to have opened fire, injuring two others.
The youths besieged the Customs office, but were not able to gain entrance.
They also cordoned off the major roads.
The DPO of Seme Police Station, who had already been alerted by his men about the disturbance, gathered a team and they made for the scene.
The corpse of Poku was carried by the youths to the frontage of the Customs office, where the youths demanded that the killer-officer should be handed over to them.
They claimed that Customs officers used to kill youths in the area and would later dubbed the deceased or injured victims as ‘smugglers.’
When the DPO tried to address them, the youths shattered the windscreen of the police patrol van.
The youths demanded that the Customs should hand the killer officer to the DPO for investigation, to guarantee a peaceful resolution of the protest.
One of the youths said: “Why is it that the officers involved in the incident have not gone to make statement at the station since the shooting?
“Why is it that the vehicle belonging to the deceased was taken away by Customs, rather than the police? “This is to afford them the opportunity to conceal vital evidence, which will reveal what truly happened?”
When contacted, the Custom Public Relations Officer, Seme Command, Deputy Superintendent of Custom; Ernest Ollotah, said that the Customs had already set up a panel to investigate the issue.
Ollotah however insisted that there was no killing, adding that the command was investigating a case of an attempt to disarm some Customs officers by some smugglers who fled the area after they were driven back by security men.
He however assured that the outcome of the investigation would be made public by the Customs.
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