RismadarVoice Reporters, February 6, 2026
The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, has confirmed the death of one of its officers, Assistant Superintendent of Customs, Mustapha Akiyode, who was fatally shot during an ambush by suspected smugglers in Ogun State.
Akiyode was killed in the early hours of Tuesday, February 3, 2026, while on official duty along the Ilara–Ijoun axis in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, a border corridor known for intense smuggling activities.
Confirming the incident in a statement issued on the Service’s official X handle, the Comptroller of FOU Zone ‘A’, Gambo Aliyu, described the officer’s death as “a sobering reminder of the dangers faced by personnel engaged in border enforcement.”
Despite the loss, Aliyu said the command has intensified its operations through a revamped, intelligence-driven anti-smuggling strategy, which has already yielded significant results.
According to him, Customs operatives intercepted 144 smuggling attempts, involving a wide range of prohibited and uncustomed goods across the zone.
Items seized include 6,954 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 77 bags of foreign sugar, 21 used vehicles, over 3,300 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 20,700 litres of premium motor spirit, 915 bales of used clothing, 581 used refrigerator compressors classified as hazardous waste, and a 20-foot container of stone-coated aluminium roofing sheets.
The Comptroller also disclosed a major breakthrough in the fight against drug trafficking, announcing the interception of 3,029 parcels of a synthetic strain of cannabis indica, weighing 1,431 kilograms.
He warned that drug trafficking poses serious security risks, noting that narcotics fuel violence and instability across the country, and urged perpetrators to abandon illegal activities or face the full weight of the law.
In connection with the seizures, eight suspects were arrested, with the combined Duty Paid Value of the intercepted items estimated at ₦3.32 billion.
The seized cannabis has been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation and prosecution.
