Details and verifiable facts have emerged on how the faceoff between the customs officers and indigenes of Saki, Saki West Local Government, Area of Oyo State left two dead.
An eyewitness, who spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear retribution narrated that the violence which ensued on Thursday, 13th August, between the aforementioned victims precipitated the death of a customs officer (Aminu) and an indigene popularly known as ‘MM’ at Agbooja Village, along Bodilu road, Saki.
Khalid Imran, Editor, naijatodaynews.com in an exclusive interview with an anonymous source revealed that the customs officers allegedly chased a Saki indigene alleged to be smuggler from the outskirt of the community into the town.
The source added that in the process of identifying the alleged smuggler(MM) as a suspect necessitating the smuggling of government’s disallowed goods(rice) into the community, MM was allegedly killed.
He said that the incident made some indigenes in the community to attack the customs office, located along Ilesa Ibariba Road, killed one of their officers and equally burnt a customs’ vehicle parked in front of their office.
The source explained that the fight became more violent, sequel to the death of a customs officer which made the Okere of Saki, Oba Khalid Olabisi to declare a curfew in the community after an acknowledgement that a customs officer and an indigene have lost their lives in a free-for-all clash.
He said that people had immediately deserted major markets following the announcement of a total curfew by the king to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
An anonymous source stressed that the Area Commander of Saki did all his best to position his men at the strategic locations in a bid to forestall further disturbance in the community, adding that it was during reprisal that some aggrieved persons in the town attacked the customs office and killed one of their men.
It would be recalled that the similar event had happened on Friday, 7th July,2020 in Iseyin, Iseyin Local Government,Area of the state when a customs officer shot an Executive Member of the proscribed National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) named ‘Lateef Abiola’ at Iseyin-Moniya Park in Iseyin.
An officer, name withheld among three others in mufti and in a private Lexus jeep chased a public transport vehicle to the park on suspicion of the vehicle carrying a bag of rice.
This would have resulted to loss of lives but the head of the park, Mr Lateef Shittu(Alias Akue) contacted the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who immediately mobilized his men to the point so as to curb the situation and prevent the further breakdown of law and order
