The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said three of its officers and men had been killed by gunmen in Rivers State.
Mr Jerry Atta, who is the spokesperson for Zone C, Custom’s Federal Operations Unit, confirmed the incident in an interview on Channels Television on Sunday.
He explained that the officers were attacked by armed men on Saturday night at a patrol base in Isiokpo – the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.
He said that after killing the security operatives, the gunmen went away with an Ak-47 rifle and two Toyota Hilux vans belonging to the service.
He noted that a thorough investigation would be carried out to unravel the circumstances that led to the attack and the motive of the assailants.
Atta blamed the killing of the security operatives on armed smugglers whose businesses had been frustrated by the customs in recent times.
An unspecified number of customs officers and policemen were reportedly killed at different checkpoints in Rivers.
The incident was said to have taken place between Omagwa – Isiokpo – Elele communities in Ikwerre, along the Port Harcourt – Owerri Road.
Although police authorities in the state had confirmed the attack, they went silent on whether any of their officers and men was killed.
“We have launched a full-scale investigation into the dastardly attack with a view to arresting the perpetrators and bringing them to justice,” the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, Eboka Friday, said in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in Rivers, Nnamdi Omoni.
He noted that calm had been restored in the area, with reinforced and increased joint patrols in Ikwerre and other areas in the state by the security agencies.
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