Customs officer killed in Ogun ambush as N3.32bn smuggled goods seized

• Assistant Superintendent of Customs Mustapha Akiyode was killed during an ambush by suspected smugglers in Ogun State.
• The Nigeria Customs Service intercepted 144 smuggling attempts across the zone.
• Seized items, including drugs, rice and vehicles, had a combined duty paid value of N3.32bn.

The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone A, has confirmed the death of one of its officers, Assistant Superintendent of Customs Mustapha Akiyode, who was fatally shot by suspected smugglers during an ambush in Ogun State.

Akiyode was killed in the early hours of Tuesday, February 3, while on official duty along the Ilara–Ijoun axis in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, a border corridor long associated with smuggling activities.

Customs describes the attack as a sobering loss

Speaking during his maiden press briefing at the unit’s headquarters in Ikeja, the Comptroller of FOU Zone A, Gambo Aliyu, described the killing as a sobering reminder of the dangers faced by officers enforcing Nigeria’s borders and trade laws.

He said the service remained committed to confronting smuggling syndicates with renewed vigour, professionalism and respect for the rule of law, despite the risks involved.

Aliyu said the command’s revamped intelligence-driven strategy had already yielded major results, leading to the interception of 144 smuggling attempts involving a wide range of prohibited and uncustomed goods.

Read also: Customs Seizes N3.3 Billion Worth of Rice, Cannabis, and Hazardous Items in Lagos

Items seized included 6,954 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 77 bags of foreign sugar, 21 used vehicles, 3,362 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 20,700 litres of premium motor spirit, 915 bales of used clothing, 581 used refrigerator compressors classified as hazardous waste, and a 20-foot container of stone-coated aluminium roofing sheets.

Major drug seizure, arrests recorded

He also disclosed a significant breakthrough in drug interdiction, with operatives intercepting 3,029 parcels of a synthetic strain of cannabis indica weighing 1,431 kilograms, a seizure he said disrupted narcotics supply routes within the zone.

Aliyu warned that drug trafficking fuels violence and insecurity by emboldening criminal networks and destabilising communities, urging those involved to abandon illicit trade and embrace legitimate livelihoods.

Eight suspects were arrested in connection with the seizures, which had a combined duty paid value of N3.32bn. The seized cannabis has been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation and prosecution.

The Customs Service reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s borders, even as it mourned the loss of one of its officers in the line of duty.