Stolen Petrol: How Suspected Smugglers Shoot Customs Officers

By Oladosu Oluwagbenga 

In the early hours of Thursday, suspected smugglers were attempting to smuggle 81,425 liters of Petroleum Motor Spirit via the Badagry region of Lagos State, according to the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Deputy Comptroller Hussein Ejibunu, the unit’s acting Customs Area Controller, was quoted in a statement as saying that the officers managed to seize the goods from the smugglers despite being shot at.

The PMS was parked in jerrycans and bags, according to Ejibunnu, who also claimed that the smugglers used Dane weapons to attack the officers.

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He claimed that the seizures were the consequence of the unit’s officers’ meticulous diligence and commitment in pursuing their goal of safeguarding the country’s economy.

“When my men got there at exactly 1:30 pm, we were shot at with Dane guns. And you know that there is a difference between Dane guns, pump action guns and assault rifles like AK-47.

“They fired their Dane guns a few times and ran away, and since it was their terrain, they knew all the nooks and crannies to use for escape. We took possession. I moved in with 18 Hilux vehicles loaded with officers who were armed to the teeth because I was ready and knew what could come up.”

Ejibunu referred to those who smuggle fuel across borders as saboteurs who must be stopped because they don’t have the country’s best interests at heart.

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He criticized the Federal Government for spending a significant amount of money to subsidize petrol for Nigerians while a small number of people smuggled the fuel out of the country for their own personal gain.

“The seizure is a result of serious intelligence. We have been monitoring them since last week, and the information came to me that some people are using sacks to smuggle petroleum products out of Nigeria.

“We put a close tab on them and their cup became full. What baffled me is the manner of loading, which I consider highly ingenious.

“For someone to think that instead of carrying drums like the ones we intercepted a few days ago from Ayegun border where they brought in about 60 drums containing PMS about to be moved from Nigeria and hid them in a bush, it was where they went to secure trucks that we swooped on them.

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“The only difference in this new one is that they used sacks to conceal the product and put them close to a creek, from where they will be ferried out.

According to him, “The implications to the economy are multifaceted. Firstly, our country subsidized petroleum products for us for our own use, yet some recalcitrant people who believe that that is the way they can always survive still believe it is to shortchange the nation as well. And it is criminal, because it is our collective patrimony, yet some people now believe that they can smuggle it to make gains.”