These Customs Officers Beat Up A Lagos Magistrate For Impounding Their Vehicles (Photo)

There was confusion in the Ikeja area of Lagos on Friday after some officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Ikeja, allegedly attacked a magistrate, Lekan Aka-Bashorun, for impounding their vehicles.

It was gathered that the customs officers allegedly slapped Aka-Bashorun, while two policemen and two other paramilitary officials attached to the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, were also beaten up.

It was gathered that court exhibits and recording gadgets were also damaged by the customs officials, who it was said openly boasted that their cars could not be impounded by the Lagos Mobile Court.

According to Punch, on Friday around 1pm, the task force officials with the mobile court went to the Allen Avenue area in Ikeja, to impound vehicles caught violating traffic laws.

The officials were said to have arrived at the NCS, FOU headquarters, Ikeja, where some private cars were also parked along the walkways.

As the mobile court officials impounded the vehicles, some customs officials barricaded the highway with stones and tyres.

The customs officers, who were said to have forcefully removed the number plates from the impounded vehicles, hit the magistrate for ordering that the vehicles be impounded.

A witness, who gave his name only as Ibrahim, alleged that two mobile phones belonging to the officials were seized by the customs officers during the rampage.

He said, “It was around a car wash area. To show that it was wrong to park vehicles by the walkway, there was also a ‘No parking’ sign, put there by the customs authorities. But some vehicles were parked there. The state mobile court impounded the vehicles.