February 4, 2026 | SUNTV Global Channel | News
Suspected smugglers have killed an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and injured two others during a deadly ambush in Ogun State, highlighting a renewed wave of violent attacks against anti-smuggling operatives along Nigeria’s border corridors.
The officer, attached to the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, was killed on Tuesday morning while on active duty, according to the Command overseeing the region.
The killing comes barely 48 hours after another violent confrontation in which smugglers attacked a customs patrol team, leaving two officers wounded. That earlier incident, which occurred on Saturday, reportedly claimed one life and left four others with varying degrees of injuries.
Confirming the latest attack, the Controller of FOU Zone A, Comptroller Gambo Aliyu, described the loss as devastating and reflective of the growing dangers faced by officers in the line of duty.
“The Command, on February 3, 2026, lost one of its promising officers, who fell to the cold hands of death in the service of our fatherland. This unfortunate loss has been formally communicated to the Service High Command,” Aliyu said.
He attributed the spike in violent attacks to the unit’s intensified operations against major smuggling syndicates, particularly those involved in drug trafficking.
According to the Comptroller, the Command recently recorded a major breakthrough with the interception of 3,029 parcels of a potent synthetic strain of cannabis indica, commonly known as ‘Ghanaian Loud’, weighing a total of 1,431 kilograms.
“Amid the rising tide of crime and criminality in the country, the unit under my watch intensified its onslaught against drug trafficking syndicates within our area of responsibility. This action significantly disrupted their supply chains,” Aliyu explained.
He added that the attacks on customs personnel must be viewed within Nigeria’s broader security challenges, including banditry, terrorism, and other transnational crimes threatening national stability.
Despite repeated ambushes in Ogun State—a long-standing smuggling hotspot—the Nigeria Customs Service insists it will not retreat from its mandate to protect the nation’s borders.
The identity of the slain officer is being withheld pending full notification of his family.
