Riot in Ogun as customs shot dead another youth on New Year's Eve - NenyKo

Pandemonium was reported in Oke-Odan, Yewa South Ogun State Local Government after the alleged killing of a youth by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on New Year’s Eve.

It was reported that the customs officers had resorted to sporadic gunshots while chasing a suspected car smuggler along the Idiroko border road.

The incident, which was brought together, led to a riot as the Oke-Odan youth barricaded the international road, causing a heavy gridlock.

The angry youths made bonfires on the road, threatening to engage the NCS officers, who were said to have fled the scene immediately after the incident.

Our correspondent, who visited the area, reported that all customs checkpoints along the road had been vacated by officers.As a result of the gridlock, commercial drivers have now increased the journey from Owode to Idiroko, which is usually between N250 and N300, to N1,200.

The cries of the youth and indigenous peoples of the Ogun border communities over the alleged killing of innocent souls by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) seem to have yielded no results.

Information has it that innocent young people have still lost their lives to stray bullets reported to be fired by officers of the NCS Ogun State Command and those of the Federal Operating Unit (FOU).

On Wednesday, the youth of Ogun, under the auspices of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), took to the streets to condemn the killings, saying, “Enough is enough! ”

When newsmen contacted the NCS spokesperson, Ogun 1 Area Command, Ahmed Oloyede, he neither debunked nor confirmed the killing of Oke-Odan.

Oloyede promised to send a phone number to our correspondent, but he still has to do so at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, a group identified as the Assembly of Patriots International reacted to the killings in the Yewa Axis of Ogun West.

The President of the Association, Olasunkanmi Odunlami, expressed his appreciation to the youth for Wednesday’s protest.

“While commending this courageous move by our youths, we wish to unequivocally call on other stakeholders to speak up by calling-out the economic saboteurs and kingpins involved in this heinous crime against our mother land that has continuously been leading to confrontations between our people and the law enforcement agency.

“To put an end to these killings, there must be collective resolve to name these kingpins publicly and demand that they be arrested and prosecuted. The overwhelming evidence of their trucks loaded with these goods are enough to put them behind bars. We join our youths in calling on both the state and federal governments to promptly intervene in their protest and quest for justice,” the statement read in part.