By Badagry Today A tragic incident has shaken the Badagry community as a Nigerian Navy officer, identified as OS Nuhu, lost his life durin...
By Badagry Today
A tragic incident has shaken the Badagry community as a Nigerian Navy officer, identified as OS Nuhu, lost his life during a daring operation against rice smugglers on the waterways.
According to SaharaReporters, the incident happened during a large-scale naval raid aimed at curbing illegal rice smuggling from the Benin Republic into Nigeria. According to sources, the boat carrying seized bags of rice capsized in the Badagry creeks, instantly drowning Officer Nuhu. Another officer on board sustained severe injuries and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
The operation, which was led by Captain Oyeleye Omotayo, followed credible intelligence reports about widespread smuggling activities in the Badagry-Port Novo axis. At least 20 boats loaded with foreign rice were intercepted during the raid. But just as the team was preparing to move the seized goods, one of the boats capsized under unclear circumstances.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) confirmed the operation took place around the Badagry-Port Novo creek, a notorious route for illegal trade.
This unfortunate incident has once again spotlighted growing concerns over corruption within the Nigerian Customs Service. Local sources and dealers allege that smugglers pay as much as N250,000 per boat to pass through Customs checkpoints unchallenged. Locations such as Marina Customs base, Iya Afin, and Erekiti have been mentioned repeatedly as safe routes for smugglers due to poor enforcement.
Exclusive video footage, obtained by SaharaReporters, reportedly shows boats offloading contraband rice in broad daylight—raising questions about the complicity of some security officials and the lack of effective oversight.
Legal rice merchants in Badagry are crying out, saying the unchecked smuggling is killing their businesses. “We can’t compete with rice that doesn’t pay duties,” one trader lamented. “They’re flooding the markets while we are being pushed out.”
As at the time of this report, the Nigerian Navy has yet to issue an official statement regarding the death of OS Nuhu. Repeated attempts to get comments from the Customs Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, were unsuccessful.
This heartbreaking incident serves as a grim reminder of the risks security personnel face in the line of duty and the urgent need for stronger action against smuggling and corruption along Nigeria’s borders.
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