Badagry traders grieves as Customs invade rice stores cart away 800 bags

By: Manoah kikekon 

Photo used to illustrate the news

Badagry traders in sadness as Nigeria Customs Service officers invaded and carted away over 700 bags of rice in Sepe area of Round-About, Badagry, where traders store bags of rice.

The officers suspected to have come from Gbaji and Yard checkpoints invaded the area at 11pm on Saturday, 22nd, and Sunday, 23rd of February 2025.

Mr. Ope Olatunji, a st Customs has continued to threaten our business, and life is too much. We have cried out over time, but no one could rescue us from them. They came on Saturday and Sunday nights at about 10pm to 11pm and they came with some military men covering their faces. We have cried out on many occasions, but nothing is done.

Mrs. Kuburah, a storekeeper, said, They went away with my 600 bags of rice. I was not at home when they came, they broke into the house and took all my goods. All I could do was cry because this was the only thing I had been doing for many years to feed my family, but they would come at night, break our stores with brand-new cutlasses and guns, and take our goods away.
When they came on Wednesday, they were seriously shooting sporadically everyone had to run for their lives.

Mr. Tunji Olaoluwa said they have now turned it into a daily thing, they come to break people's stores and take all their goods away. There was a time we traced them to know where they took our rice to, we discovered they shared the rice among themselves before getting to their office. On several occasions, we have seen the rice they seized from us in Alaba market because everyone here has their signatures on all their goods.
The comptrollers have said on various occasions that rice should not be collected inside the town, but the officers will come to our residents, break down our doors, shoot at the people, and go away with our goods.

At the time, this news was gathered, and all attempts to reach out to the Seme Border customs were not successful.