By Peter Dansu A video circulating on social media has captured a tense confrontation between a woman and a Customs officer at an alleged i...
By Peter Dansu
A video circulating on social media has captured a tense confrontation between a woman and a Customs officer at an alleged illegal checkpoint in Mowo, Badagry, Lagos State.
In the footage, the woman and the Customs officer are seen struggling with each other, while another woman is heard alleging that the officer assaulted her during the encounter.
The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday afternoon, August 9, 2026, along the Mowo axis of the Lagos Badagry corridor.
According to the woman who posted the video, the incident began when passengers travelling towards Ijanikin were allegedly pursued by a Customs Hilux vehicle from around Mowo.
She told CityMood that the Customs vehicle allegedly chased their commercial vehicle and forced the driver to stop near a filling station around Mowo Bus Stop.
She alleged that the Customs personnel ordered all the passengers to come down from the vehicle and accused them of transporting rice, despite their insistence that they were not carrying smuggled rice.
According to her, the officers allegedly seized the rice and removed the key of the Korope bus, which she said was being driven by a woman. She added that the vehicle and the seized goods were subsequently taken to a Customs checkpoint around Mowo.
The woman further alleged that the Customs Hilux pursued their vehicle aggressively during the incident, creating a situation in which an accident was narrowly avoided.
She said she attempted to document the encounter with her mobile phone, but a soldier attached to the Customs personnel allegedly demanded that she hand over the device.
She, however, said she managed to record part of the encounter before the situation escalated, with the footage later posted on social media.
The woman also alleged that one of the Customs personnel verbally abused the passengers as they pleaded with the officers during the confrontation.
The incident has renewed concerns over alleged activities at Customs checkpoints along the Badagry corridor, particularly the Mowo axis.
The Mowo Customs point is among several checkpoints previously described as illegal and ordered to be dismantled by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service. However, residents and commuters have continued to raise concerns over the alleged continued operation of such checkpoints under the Seme Area Command.
CityMood reached out to the Customs Public Relations Officer in Badagry for the agency's response to the allegations. No response had been received as of the time of filing this report.
The woman appealed to the Lagos State Government and other relevant authorities to intervene, alleging that commuters and residents travelling along the corridor frequently face harassment and disruption over the transportation of rice and other goods.
She urged the authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and address what she described as recurring confrontations between Customs personnel and commuters along the route.
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