One killed as Customs, car dealers clash in Ilorin

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

There was a pendulum in Saw mill area of IIorin, Kwara state, where an unidentified customs officer shot driver of a vehicle to death, while his assistant sustained dangerous wounds.

Our correspondent reported that the incident started at about 8am at saw-mill area, when a car dealer, who had just arrived from a foreign trip to Benin Republic, was stopped by a custom officer on the high way.

He said that when the car dealer refused to obey the custom officer, they chased him and latter shot the two occupants of the vehicle and ran away.

The development caused youths and suspected members of the car dealers group to mobilise themselves and barricade some roads leading to the Custom Service headquarters behind Ilorin praying ground.

Our correspondent observed that some of the aggrieved youths and car dealers were seen with dangerous weapons while protesting at the customs headquarters.

However, they met strong resistance from the officers of the service and anti-riot Police men, who were shooting sporadically in the air to scare the mob away.

Our correspondent reported that all roads linking to the customs service were blocked by armed police officers and custom officers, forcing CAC junior secondary school behind Customs Service headquarters to hurriedly close for the safety of pupils.

While confirming the incident, the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Ajayi Okasanmi, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said only one person died and that the corpse had since been taken to hospital morgue.

The PPRO, who said no arrest had been made on the incident, also said that normalcy had returned to the area after the brawl.