Traders at the Bodija market in Ibadan protested the seizure of bags of rice “worth millions of naira” by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Hundreds of traders took to the streets of Ibadan to protest against what they called an invasion of their shops by men of the customs service who they allegedly broke into shops at midnight to seize the bags of rice.
The rice traders; men and women, who were seen carrying placards with various inscriptions, called on the customs authority to return all the rice and money carted away from their shops.
The protesters, who marched from the market to the state secretariat, also claimed that large sums of money left in some stores were missing after the operation of the customs personnel.
One of the affected traders, Olayemi Oladunni, said that 100 bags of rice and N2 million cash were taken away from her shop.
Also, R.O. Mosope and E.A. Iyadunni, whose shops were situated at Alao-Akala shopping complex in the market, said the action of the customs operatives was unacceptable.
The duo called on the Nigeria Customs Service to intervene, by ordering its men to return goods and money carted away from their shops.
Addressing the protesters in front of the state secretariat, Agodi Ibadan, Sunday Odukoya, the executive assistant to Gov. Seyi Makinde on security matters, implored the traders to be patient, saying the effort was ongoing to speak with the customs’ authority on the matter.
Mr. Odukoya appealed to the protesters to desist from taking laws into their hands.