Customs Seize 30,000 Live Ammunition In Ibadan, Suspect Arrested

Barely 10 months after an earlier seizure of 56,750
rounds of live cartridges by the Oyo/Osun Area
Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS),
the command yesterday announced another
significant seizure of 30,000 pieces of ammunition
packed in 20 cartons. The latest seizure was made
possible through the effort of one of the anti-
smuggling teams of the command. The seizure,
coming a few months to the 2015 general election,
according to the Area Comptroller of the Command,
Richard Oteri, was commendable against the
heightened insecurity in the country. Oteri who
spoke at a press briefing said the ammunition was
concealed under tubers of yam and yam flour in a
rickety white Toyota Hiace bus, with registration
number Kwara XC 286 SHA. The live cartridges
which were intercepted early Monday morning
along Saki-Ago-Are axis of Oyo State, in Oke-
Ogun upper area of the state, might have found its
way into the state through the border of the
neighbouring Benin Republic, carefully concealed in
the bus. The driver of the bus, Abdulrahman
Adegoke, 45, who was arrested on the spot, denied
ownership of the live cartridges, saying he was
only hired to transport the goods to Ibadan. The
Comptroller lamented that the seizure made by the
team led by S.C. Okoli was at the same axis of the
state, where last year’s seizure was made. He
declared that his command would not relent in its
effort to rid the state of criminally-minded people.
According to Oteri, “Our command is poised and
passionate about building on the success recorded
in the past years and this monumental seizure is
commendable to say the least, against the
backdrop of the heightened insecurity in the
country. “Nigerians who engage in smuggling of
unwholesome goods are to note that we are more
determined now than ever to make Oyo/Osun
command an uncomfortable place for their
nefarious activities, while promising trade
facilitation to all legitimate businessmen and
women in the area. “We will continue to partner
with other security agencies to make the area and
indeed the country at large a safe place to dwell,”
he said. Adegoke, despite his denial of ownership
of the live cartridges, and that he was only hired to
transport the goods to Ibadan, was later handed
over to the Nigeria Police along with the smuggled
items. Receiving the suspect and the items, the
State deputy Commissioner of Police, Musa Kawo,
who commended the customs for the feat,
promsed that the matter would be investigated and
the culprits brought to book.