Customs officers have been injured in a gunfight with smugglers at Obada Idi Emi near Imeko Afon, in Ogun state border communities with Benin republic.
The leader of the customs patrol team and another officer were injured in the arm and legs.
Another person suspected to be an onlooker was shot dead.
The smugglers had attacked officers of a custom patrol which intercepted smuggled parboiled rice on Monday.
The officers had offloaded the contraband from a Mazda car whose driver had escaped into their patrol van when the armed smugglers opened fire on them.
The custom officers were forced to escape from the scene.
The patrol vehicle was damaged while the seized contraband was taken away.

A High Court sitting in Idi-Oke, Igbesa, on Tuesday issued a ruling that restrains Odetogun Moruf from presenting himself as the Baale of Kajola Iboro, a town in Ota, located in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

In the case with suit number HCI/130/2024, the court ordered Mr. Moruf, who was previously claimed to have been installed by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Aremu Gbadebo Adedotun, to cease parading himself as the Baale of the Awori town.

Kajola Iboro, an Awori town sharing borders with Atan, Ota, Oke-Ore, and other Awori settlements, traditionally falls under the jurisdiction of the Olota of Ota.

However, the alleged “expansionist” actions of the Alake reportedly led to the installation of an “illegal” Baale in the town, a decision that has now been overturned by the High Court.

Further details of the court proceedings remain unavailable as of the time of this report,

The Ogun State Community, Social Orientation, and Safety Corps (So-Safe Corps) has apprehended two suspects, Abdullahi Idowu and Samson Ojo, for theft in the Idiroko border area, demonstrating the Corps’ commitment to ensuring that no crime goes unpunished, regardless of its magnitude.

In a statement issued by the State Commander, Commander (Dr.) Soji Ganzallo, through the Director of Information and Public Relations, Assistant Commander Moruf Yusuf, it was disclosed that the suspects—Abdullahi Idowu, 18, a resident of Babaloke area, Idiroko, and Samson Ojo, 17, residing at Etikoto, Ikolaje area, Idiroko—were apprehended around 10:30 p.m. on November 17, 2024. Both locations fall under Ipokia Local Government Area.

The suspects were caught during a joint routine patrol by the Special Squad and the Idiroko Divisional Team of the Corps, led by Chief Superintendent Abdulkareem Abdulrazaq. Upon their arrest, they were found with two bags containing a stolen generator engine parts.

Commander Ganzallo revealed that a preliminary investigation uncovered that Abdullahi Idowu is an ex-convict who previously served a jail term in the Benin Republic. During interrogation, he confessed to stealing the generator engine parts from the Idiroko border area and admitted to stealing a large battery the previous Friday, which he sold to a scrap dealer.

The suspects were taken to the scene of the theft in Idiroko, where it was confirmed that the stolen generator parts belonged to a customs office. Additional parts of the generator were discovered in a nearby bush.

Ganzallo further stated that the suspects, along with the recovered items, have been transferred to the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun Area 1 Command, Idiroko, for further investigation.