It was gathered that the gunmen killed one officer, identified as Saheed Aweda attached to the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 3 ASCI and injured three others during the attack.
Some unknown gunmen have attacked the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) officers along Sinau-Kenu road in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State.
It was gathered that the gunmen killed one officer, identified as Saheed Aweda attached to the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 3 ASCI and injured three others during the attack.
This was made known in a statement issued on Monday by the Public Relations Officer Kwara Customs Area Command, Chado Zakari who disclosed that the operatives were on informational patrol before the attack last Friday.
The statement reads, “The patrol team intercepted forty bags of foreign parboiled rice 50kg each and 30 jerry cans of premium motor spirit (PMS) 25 each litres abandoned in the bush paths, along Sinau-Kenu Road.
“The operatives immediately swung to action and evacuated the Seized items into their operational vehicles for onward delivery to Government Warehouse for safe keeping in line with rules of engagement, while on transit; a group of hoodlums laid ambush and attacked the personnel.
“In the fiery exchange that ensued, one of our officers succumbed to the cold hands of death, while three officers sustained life threatening injuries and are currently responding to treatment in the hospital,” it stated.
According to the statement, the deceased was buried according to Islamic customs in his hometown of Popogbona in the Ilorin West Local Government of Kwara State.
Comptroller Olugboyega Peters, representatives of the DSS, Nigeria Police, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Intelligence Agency, Immigration, and other security services, according to Zakari, had visited the deceased’s family to express condolences.
The sector, on the other hand, praised the patriotic activities of sister agencies and law-abiding citizens in aiding the sector in doing its lawful responsibility of implementing partial border closures in the interest of the country.
The statement also said “security agencies have since restored normalcy in the area while the contraband items were moved to the sector’s headquarters, Ilorin for safekeeping.”
It added that the coordinator, Joint Border Patrol Team, Comptroller Olugboyega Peters, had ordered a full-scale investigation to fish out the criminals who perpetuated the act.
“This trend of unprovoked attacks by faceless cowards whose intention is to instil fear in the minds of law enforcement operatives shall not go unpunished. Neither will it dampen the resolve of officers and men from carrying out their statutory functions.
“We wish to categorically state that we will continue to prosecute the anti-smuggling crusade in spite of the unwarranted attacks,” it stated.
saharareporter