According to reports, a traffic accident involving some agents of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and people thought to be smugglers claimed the deaths of at least two people.
The tragedy happened on the Iseyin-Ibadan road in Oyo State on Thursday,.
A customs officer and a state citizen whose identity has not yet been made public were killed in the accident, which happened as the customs authorities were pursuing several individuals believed to be smugglers.
Customs officials and other accident victims who suffered varying degrees of injuries were still being treated in hospitals.
One of the witnesses, who wished to remain unnamed, reported seeing the wreckage of the car used to pursue the suspect smugglers.
“There was an accident that occurred yesterday. It was the customs officers who said they were chasing some people suspected to be smugglers
“In the process, they had an accident and two people died. The vehicle has been towed to Iseyin”.
While confirming the tragedy, Theophilus Duniya, the Federal Operating Unit (FOU) Zone A of NCS’s public relations officer, claimed it was a single accident.
According to Duniya, no one was being chased by the customs authorities at the time of the incident.
He insisted that the mishap only resulted in the death of one customs officer.
“It was a lone accident. We lost one of our officers. Others are responding to treatment. They were not pursuing anyone”, he said.