Ogun State Police Command has tackled the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, over use of a vehicle allegedly belonging to the Police for smuggling.
The Customs was quoted as having, during a press briefing by the Nigeria Custom Ogun 1 area command on Tuesday while parading some impounded contraband at the command’s headquarters in Abeokuta, said a police vehicle was involved.
In a swift reaction, however, the police in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the claim by the Customs was false and could not be substantiated.
It said the number plate used as evidence of police ownership of the vehicle was wrong.
According to him, no police vehicle was numbered as the one referred to.
The statement reads in full:
“The attention of Ogun state police command has been drawn to a news item with the above caption circulating on social media and other media outfit. The news has to do with the press briefing done by the Nigeria Custom Ogun 1 area command on the 22nd of March 2022, while parading some impounded contraband at the command’s headquarters in Abeokuta.
“During the said press briefing, a vehicle purportedly belonging to Nigeria Police Force, used for smuggling of 27 bags of rice and abandoned by the driver when accosted by Custom officers was paraded by the comptroller.
“The command wouldn’t have liked to join issues with a sister agency, but in order to set the record straight, there is need to make the following clarifications.
“To start with, the number plate on the vehicle which is PF 10889 SPY is not a police number plate, as no police vehicle will be numbered in such manner.
“The Nigeria Custom Services which have unfettered access to the top echelon of the Police command would have contacted the command for detailed information about the vehicle before labelling it as Police vehicle in their press briefing, moreso that nobody was arrested with the said vehicle to give credence to their claim.
“The command hereby wishes to inform members of the public that the said vehicle is not a Police vehicle and the number plate on it is fake and the police has nothing to do with it.”
