Customs kills 3 during raid •Only one died —Police

Three people were on Monday, shot dead by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service in Ijora Badia area of Lagos. Two others were confirmed injured in the incident.

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmus, confirmed the incident but claimed that only one person died and that the two others are recuperating at an unnamed hospital

Policemen from the Ijora police station were ensuring a raid on selected criminal hideouts in the area, when the customs officers invaded the community and shot sporadically.

The yet to be identified customs officers, who were attached to the Zone A command of the Nigerian Customs Service were said to have been invited by some Hausa community leaders in Ijora  who were not comfortable with the raiding by the police.

A resident of the area, Ramoni told Lagos Metro that “the customs officers were going on their own, when some Hausa leaders stopped them and told them that policemen were arresting them. The customs officers then stopped and started harassing people.”

The customs officers were said to have opened fire in the process, hitting five people with three of them reported dead and two others injured.

Badmos, while speaking on the incident said “the community and the police command were on a joint operation of raiding black spots within the community and arresting suspected criminals.

She continued that, “in the process, some officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, who were in convoy  with some officials oft the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had an encounter with the hoodlums. They fired some shots and three people were wit by stray bullets. As a result one death was recorded, while two others are receiving treatment at the hospital.”

She also emphasised that “the police were not involved.”