By: Manoah Kikekon
Security operatives from the Nigerian Customs Service and soldiers manning checkpoints along the Badagry-Seme Expressway brutalized two residents, Taofeek Olatunbosun and Rafiu Abdelmalik, on Sunday for making a video.
The officers suspected the duo of being informants supplying journalists with information about smuggling activities.
The victims, both transporters, were assaulted at the checkpoint on December 1, 2024, at Oloko, along the Badagry-Seme Expressway. They were attempting to make a video to update their customers on their location.
In a phone interview with Vanguard, Taofeek Olatunbosun explained: “We were on our way to Apa when the motorcycle we were on stopped at a fuel station to get petrol. The customer I was supposed to deliver goods to kept asking for my exact location, so I asked my assistant to make a video of our surroundings to send to him.
“Before I knew it, someone approached my assistant and tried to take his phone. This drew the attention of security operatives at the checkpoint. When they intervened, they accused us of making videos for journalists exposing smuggling activities on the road.
“They took us to a location near the checkpoint and contacted their team leader, Officer Adamu Zakari, a soldier. When he arrived, he recognized me and mentioned he knew my brother, threatening to kill him the next time he saw him. Despite recognizing me, he still didn’t believe our story. He then asked why the officers hadn’t killed us and dumped our bodies in the water. That’s when the beating started.”
Rafiu Abdelmalik, the second victim, shared his experience: “I was only making the video under my boss’s instructions. One of the smugglers working with the security operatives slapped me and tried to take my phone. He dragged us to the officers, who took us to a secluded area near the checkpoint and tortured us, demanding we reveal which journalists we were planning to send the video to.
“When residents saw how severe the beating was, they called the police, who eventually rescued us. Otherwise, they would have killed us. It was later discovered that the same officers had warned journalists in Badagry not to report on smuggling activities.”
This incident follows an investigative video by journalist Fisayo Soyombo, which alleged the involvement of the Nigerian Customs Service in smuggling activities on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. The footage showed Customs patrol vans at checkpoints granting smugglers safe passage into Lagos via Badagry. The smuggled goods included rice, chicken, and turkey, with concerns that some vehicles might have been carrying illicit drugs or weapons.
When contacted by Vanguard, Abdullahi Hossein, Public Relations Officer of the Seme Border Customs, stated: “The officers involved will be withdrawn from the checkpoint immediately. What they did does not reflect our organization’s values, and we take full responsibility for their actions.”
Regarding military involvement, Hossein added, “Due to the volatile nature of some patrols, we have military personnel attached to us. I’m not sure if military officers were involved in this incident, but we take responsibility and urge the victims to reach out to us.”