Abeokuta – As we speak, today, Sunday, 20th October, 2024, there is an ongoing daylight armed robbery at the Nigerian Customs Service Checkpoint, Ijebu-Ode tollgate, Ogun State.
As our vehicle, a Toyota Sienna approached the checkpoint, this tall mean looking Customs agent with ‘dirty eyeballs’ pointed an AK 47 rifle at the driver, who promptly slowed down, with the armed man still pointing his gun at him until he parked .
On finding a bag of rice in the car’s booth, the driver had to pay N1000, which a civilian agent working with the customs men collected.
N1000 per bag of rice! Imagine how much these men of the Nigerian Customs Service are making from Nigerians at gunpoint!
This was ostensibly being done because Foreign rice was banned by the Nigerian Government. It was revealed that if the bags of rice were upto five, the customs men seize it.
A friend of ours couldn’t understand why the Nigerians Customs Service had to seize bags of rice when Nigerians are SO HUNGRY and need food.
This discussion ensued between him and another friend of ours:
“Why do they have to seize rice that hungry Nigerians want to eat?”
“Foreign rice is banned”
“So, the ones they seize, who takes it? who eats it?”
From his bloodshot eyeballs, the Customs man ought to be tested by the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for substance abuse. But, no, he is here on the highway, collecting N1000 from fellow Nigerians with the power of the gun.
As if that wasn’t enough, every kilometre, there was a checkpoint where drivers dropped varying sums of money, from N200 to N500, both police men and Road Safety men are involved in the bazaar.
At the checkpoints, none of the security operatives even hid their name tags. Rather, they calmly gave “change” to the driver, if he gives them N500. At least, they were friendly while extorting you unlike the Ijebu-Ode Tollgate Customs operatives, who collected your N1000 with a rifle pointed at you .
No be robbery be dat?
