Condemnation as Customs invade Lagos market, cart away rice, money

Controversy has trailed the invasion of the Better Life section of the Ikotun Market in Lagos State by men of the Nigeria Customs Service.

While some of the traders claimed that the law enforcement officers carted away local rice, including the money they kept in their shops, the agency said only foreign rice smuggled into the state were taken away.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident happened around 1am on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

Some of the traders, who spoke to one of our correspondents, claimed that the officials took no fewer than 592 bags of rice and N5m cash.

They alleged that the men were accompanied by armed soldiers, adding that they broke the locks of their shops.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the customs operatives stormed the market in four trucks, among other vehicles.

A trader, Wasiu Ayinde, said he hurried to the scene after getting information on the invasion, adding that he was shot at when he queried the officials.

He said, “I only sell local rice. I have a machine that I use for the production of local rice in Minna, Niger State. Since the Federal Government said we should not sell foreign rice again, I stopped selling and focused on local rice.

“I was called around 1am that customs officials were in the market and that they were burgling shops, but I didn’t pay attention since I was not selling contraband. Another call came in around 2am that all my goods had been taken away. I got up immediately, mounted my motorcycle and went to the market.

“On getting to the market, I saw that they had packed all the 341 bags of rice in my shop, so I started screaming at the officials that I was a local rice dealer. They started shooting and did not mind if I was hit. My wife and I had to run for our lives; we got injured in the process.

“By the time they left and we came to the shop, I discovered that the N600,000 in the shop was also gone. I have been at home since that day because there is nothing else for me to do.”

Another trader, Ogbonanya Ngene, said apart from the 246 bags of rice taken from his shop, the sum of N1,236,000 he wanted to deposit in a bank the following day was missing.

A rice dealer, Dickson Ogbonna, queried why the customs men would break into the shops in the wee hours of the night without notice or any search warrant. Punch