Seven people were killed and many others were injured in a gunfight on Saturday in Ogun State between hoodlums suspected of being smugglers and officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The incident, which occurred at Kobape village along the Abeokuta – Sagamu expressway in the Obafemi – Owode local government area, was allegedly sparked by suspected smugglers who terrorised Customs operatives from the Federal Operation Unit (F.O.U) who were on routine enforcement operations in the area.
The bloody clash, which started around 5p.m on Saturday evening, left commuters and motorists stranded for more than two-hours when vehicular movements were halted along the expressway as motorists deserted the road for fear of being hit by stray bullets.
According to reports, NCS officers stopped some cars being utilized by smugglers to transport huge numbers of smuggled bags of foreign rice to an unknown location about 3 p.m. on Saturday, during which one of the drivers was also arrested and taken away.
