Skip to main content

Customs officer slaps Lagos magistrate

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Officers of the Nigerian Customs Services, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja have attacked a Magistrate of the Lagos State Mobile Court, Magistrate Lekan Aka-Bashorun and carted away court exhibits with recording gadgets.

ID Card of the custom officer who slaps a Magistrate

ID Card of the customs officer who slaps a Magistrate

One of the fully armed Nigerian Customs Assistant ‘1’, Mr. Yusuf S. S with Service No. 48730 and a card No. 368 attached to the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja was said to have slapped Magistrate Aka-Bashorun for ordering his court officials to impound Nigerian Custom officers private vehicles for traffic offences.

His other armed men beat-up two para-military officials and manhandled two Superintendents of Police attached to the Lagos State Task Force, Sunday Ikharere and Adeloye Okunola at the gate of their premises in Ikeja.

Two customs officers arrested and later released

Two customs officers arrested and later released

Taskforce spokesman, Taofiq Adebayo said officers of the Nigerian Customs Service at Ikeja who trooped out en-mass angrily and violently reacted to the operatives of the Lagos Mobile Courts, claiming that they were Federal Government Agency and were fully exempted from any of the Lagos State Government’s laws, particularly the Lagos State Road Traffic Laws of 2012.

The operatives of the Court commenced its operations from Allen Avenue in Ikeja, impounding both commercial and private vehicles for various traffic offences down to the Nigerian Customs Operations Unit, Ikeja area where private vehicles were flagrantly parked along the walkways beside an illegal car wash despite a ‘No Parking’ signs printed by the Management of Nigerian Customs on the walls of the premises.

“After impounding all these vehicles beside the Nigerian Customs premises by officials of the Lagos Mobile Court for various traffic offences, men of the Nigerian Customs Services angrily barricaded the highway with heavy stones and used tyres and descended upon court officials and all impounded vehicles’ registrations number plates were forcefully carted away, including two mobile phones-Samsung Tab ‘A’ 2016 and Samsung A5, with a Sony Camera used for recording as evidence before the court proceedings.

“The fracas, which had two Customs officers arrested would have turned out to be a bloodshed as many Customs officers came out with dangerous weapons, including guns but was later doused by the Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, SP Olayinka Egbeyemi who came to the scene and moved away officials of the Court and policemen,” Adebayo said.

However, Egbeyemi said since both the police and customs officers belonged to the same Federal Government, there was no need for disagreement.

The assaulted Magistrate, Aka-Bashorun who said there was no government officials, be it federal or state government was above any laws of the country, however, called on all Nigerian Security Serving chiefs across the country to call their respective officers to order and that they must subject themselves to civil rule or face the consequences for disobeying any laws of the country.

He said the era of military rule in this country had gone therefore directed the management of the Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, ‘A’, Ikeja to immediately compel their officers to return all court exhibits, including the two phones and a Sony Camera in their possessions without any further delayed to his court.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...