*Says it broke no store, clarifies 1,870 not 18,000 bags of rice taken away
*Defends action as in line with constitution against smuggling
*Our story – Sango rice market leader
By Kemi Kasumu
“Our men have been monitoring the activities of the smugglers who smuggled bags of rice to the warehouse. They normally chained smuggled bags of rice to motorcycles and ferried them to the warehouse on top speed…We hired seven trucks to evacuate the smuggled bags of rice. Our men could have taken everything met at the warehouse, but the number of trucks hired could not contain the consignment met on ground…Our men did not break into any shop. What we have done is not contrary to the Constitution…If any shop was broken into, it must be by the miscreants who might have taken advantage of the incident” – Customs
The Nigerian Customs Service has denied that it broke into shops or took 18,000 bags of rice away from Sango rice market in Wednesday night raid that it carried out in Sango, Sango-Ijoko Local Council Development Area of Ogun State.
It said if there was any shop broken into, it must be miscreants who might have taken advantage of the protests by the youths and the rice sellers, which followed the raid, adding that it acted within the ambit of the Constitution in carrying out the operation having been convinced following days of tracing that a warehouse within the market was destination for smuggled rice and other contraband.
Following the protest that followed the raid, human and vehicular traffic along Abeokuta-Lagos Expressway in the Sango-Ijoko area stood still on the said day when youths and rice sellers protested against the alleged invasion of the market by Customs officials and the protest led to the blockade of the main road before the bridge at Sango in the LCDA.
The protesters said the Customs officials, who invaded the market early on Wednesday, broke into stalls and forcefully parked bags of rice into their vehicles and moved them away.
The rampage left many motorists and commuters stranded, while some made efforts to ply alternative routes.
The Customs operatives were said to have invaded the market around 1.00 am with about 15 trucks and carted away about 18,000 bags of rice and jerry cans of vegetable oil.
But, in a swift reaction, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) dismissed the figures being bandied by the traders.
Both the Public Relations Officers, Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun Area Command, Mr. Usman Abubakar and Federal Operating Unit (FOU), Ikeja, Lagos, Mr. Jerome Attah, who spoke to newsmen on the incident, denied the allegation of seizure of 18,000 bags of rice.
They said that the operatives only took away 1,870 bags of rice.
They also said their operatives did not break into anyone’s shop in the market but only went into a warehouse where those contraband goods were kept.
They said they only took away 1,870 bags of rice and not 18,000 bags as claimed.
Efforts by policemen from the Sango Divisional Police Headquarters to disperse the protesters were futile.
An eyewitness told our reporter at the scene that the Customs operation allegedly joined by men of Op-Mesa, a military unit, lasted for about an hour.
Our story – rice market leader
The leader of the rice sellers in the Sango market, Alhaja Wosilat Salako, put the value of what she called 18,000 bags of rice carted away at N378million.
She lamented that many of them took loans to buy these goods and had run into debts with the seizure.
She said in Yoruba, “Around 1.00 am on Wednesday, some operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service accompanied by some men from the OP Mesa invaded over 60 shops where we kept bags of rice and vegetable oil.
“They carted away no fewer than 18,000 bags of rice and jerry cans of vegetable oil worth N378million.
“They broke into the shops by destroying the padlocks, the burglary proofs and steel doors, before removing the bags of rice and vegetable oil. Some of our members who kept money inside lockers in their shops had the money stolen by the ‘invaders’.”
Salako appealed to the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), to intervene in their case and ensure that their goods were returned to them, because, according to her, they bought the goods in the market and were not involved in smuggling.
Alhaja Salako however did not state which of the markets, Cotonou or the one approved by the government through the sea ports.
Customs’ side of the story
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, FOU, Ikeja, Lagos, Jerome Attah explained that the unit had been monitoring the activities of smugglers in that axis before they struck.
He said suspected smugglers had been using motorcycles to ferry smuggled bags of rice into the market, and their operatives had traced them to the warehouse.
He said, “Our men have been monitoring the activities of the smugglers who smuggled bags of rice to the warehouse. They normally chained smuggled bags of rice to motorcycles and ferried them to the warehouse on top speed.
“We hired seven trucks to evacuate the smuggled bags of rice. Our men could have taken everything met at the warehouse, but the number of trucks hired could not contain the consignment met on ground.
“Our men did not break into any shop. What we have done is not contrary to the Constitution.”
Also speaking on the incident, the Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun Area Command, Usman Abubakar, said those who went to raid the Sango rice market were from the Federal Operations Unit, Lagos.
He said their action was based on information they received that contraband goods had been smuggled into the market.
He said, “The operatives that went to raid the Sango rice market were not from Ogun State command. They were officials of Nigeria Customs Service attached to Federal Operations Unit, Lagos.
“They went on official patrol as enshrined in Section 158 of Customs and Excise management Act Cap 645 Laws of Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.
“They got information that some contraband were brought to the market, so they went there to evacuate 1,870 of 50Kg bags of rice and 43 kegs of vegetable oil from the warehouse.
“The value of the bags of rice taken away is N12,445,250. There was no casualty and no shop was broken into by Customs officials. If any shop was broken into, it must be by the miscreants who might have taken advantage of the incident.”
Abubakar said some miscreants waylaid them when the seven trucks in which the bags of rice and vegetable oil were loaded were being driven to their Ikeja, Lagos headquarters.
Meanwhile the protesters, who were still blocking the road till around 4.00pm when this reporter left the scene, said they would be there until Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun came to speak to them on the matter.
