Nigeria Customs Service Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT) Sector 3, has intercepted a Toyota Land Cruiser (SUV) car belonging to a member of the National Assembly.
Sector Coordinator of the JBPT, Acting Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Olugbenga Peter, disclosed while briefing journalists on the activities of the Taskforce in Ilorin, Kwara State on Monday.
Peters added that the vehicle was seized from two suspected armed robbers that had earlier allegedly snatched the car at gunpoint from the driver of the lawmaker.
JBPT Sector 3 covers Niger, Kwara, Kogi and Benue States.
He put the worth of the car at N45m and yet-to-be paid duty paid value at N15 million.
Peters added: “Our operatives deployed to Suleja axis of Niger State, while on routine patrol intercepted a Toyota land cruiser SUV with registration number KUJ 570 MB from Abuja heading to Kaduna.
“The operatives requested for the vehicle customs documents from the occupants. The two occupants who could not produce any document disembarked from the vehicle, pretending to be making a call to the owner and suddenly took to their heels and ran into the bush and abandoned the vehicle.
“While conducting search on the vehicle, the operatives found a complimentary card bearing details of a National Assembly member. The said Honourable member was subsequently contacted and officers were confronted with shocking news that the vehicle in question was snatched few hours earlier from his driver at gunpoint around Gwarimpa axis of Abuja.
“I want to assure you that once the Customs duty of the said vehicle is produced by the owner and confirmed to be genuine, the sector will hand over the vehicle to Nigeria Police Force for further investigations and theft clarification.”
He disclosed that the Taskforce in the last four months,made 187 seizures, adding that, “during the period under review, Sector 3 has intercepted a total of three stolen vehicles. Namely; Lexus RX 350 without number plate sized around Benue axis, Toyota Yaris with Registration Number BEN-59-EZ apprehended around Lokoja Axis of the Sector.
“It is worthy of note that Sector 3 during the period, successfully recorded 187 seizures valuing N302.6 million.”
He announced that the sector lost one of its officers to an unwarranted attack by yet-to-be identified persons.
“On a sad note, on Friday 21st October, 2022, the Sector 3 operatives on information patrol were attacked by a group of hoodlums who laid ambush and pelted them with stones, bottles, cutlasses, sticks, charms, guns and other dangerous items at Igboho town of Orelope local government of Oyo state, when officers were coming to headquarters with the seized rice and PMS at Sinau-Kenu Road in Baruten LGA of Kwara. One of our officers, ASCI Saheed Aweda, succumbed to the cold hands of death while three officers sustained life threatening injuries and later recovered after a long stay at hospital,” he added.
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