The Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Tolu Odebiyi, has condemned Tuesday’s killings of some youths at the Kikelomo area of Ayetoro, headquarters of the Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State by men of the Nigerian Customs Service.
Reports have it that at least three persons were killed during a clash between some suspected smugglers and operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service attached to the Ogun State Command of the agency.
There were reports that men of the NCS invaded the area on the trail of some suspected smugglers which was followed by a clash between the customs officers and the owners of some bags of smuggled rice who were trying to remove the items from a building,
While expressing his displeasure over the sad incident, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, the Senator described it as unfortunate but avoidable.
He said, “It is unfortunate that an incident such as this could still be happening after all that had been done and said about border reforms, modern techniques, and monitoring.
“The Customs officials in the area needed to be guided to refrain from killing the youths.
“Nigeria is going through a trying time with the insecurity, COVID 19 pandemic, and economic challenges already.
“The Customs should be professional for once. This should not be happening at all, with Christmas around the corner.”
The Senator urged the Customs to refrain from causing an unnecessary crisis in the border areas and use the remaining part of the year to redouble efforts at improving border management instead of killing innocent citizens.
