Customs officials raided Igangan, not gunmen – Oyo govt

Oyo State Government has said officials of the Nigeria Customs Service raided Igangan, Ayete and Igbo-Ora communities in the Ibarapa area of the state, and not gunmen as earlier reported.
Three people reportedly lost their lives during the raid on the communities on Friday.
In a statement on Saturday, Taiwo Adisa, chief press secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said political and traditional rulers of the affected towns described the raid “as unnecessary and not well thought out”.
Adisa said the leaders stated this when an aide to the governor on security matters, Sunday Odukoya, visited the affected areas.
He said, “The raid left so much turmoil in our communities as the Customs men came, shooting sporadically. Many of our people ran helter-skelter,” Jimoh Olajide Titiloye, the Olu of Igbo Ora, was quoted as saying.
“We want it stated loud and clear that our communities, Igbo Ora, Igangan and Ayete are not border towns. Why should Customs turn the communities to theatres of bloodshed and war?
“We want customs to regulate their operations. It will be better if the authorities restrict them to border towns to end unwarranted attacks on innocent communities.”
On his part, Chairman of Ibarapa North LGA, Adeoye Adedoyin, was quoted to have said the “regrettable” incident had threatened the peace of the area.
“We have received the cooperation of state and non-state actors in our efforts aimed at boosting security,” Adedoyin said.
He added, “The hunters, Amotekun and other security agencies have been cooperating fully, but we were shocked to hear reports of sporadic gunshots and commotion that ensued after a raid by men of Customs Service.”