Lagos SS3 Student Shot Dead

A Lagos SS3 student has been shot dead during a clash between security operatives of the Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT) and suspected rice smugglers at Irosu near Badagry.

The 18-year-old student, Alade Oba, was hit by a stray bullet and died on the spot during the clash with JBPT comprising the customs service, the army, and the NIS. The JBPT, established in the aftermath of the border closure of August 2019, has yet to be disbanded.

It was gathered that the JBPT were on routine patrol at Irosu near Sawa checkpoint around Owode-Apa border post in search of smuggled foreign rice, following a tip-off.

However, some youths confronted the operatives, vowing that on no account should any security agent be allowed to enter their domain to carry out the operation.

“However, in the ensuing fracas, the operatives started shooting into the air. In the process, one Alade Oba, an SSS3 student of Kankon Secondary School, was hit by a stray bullet and died on the spot.

“This resulted in a serious protest by the youths who mobilised and burned tyres, demanding the release of Oba’s corpse,” a source at the scene said.

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The unrest prompted the Commanding Officer of 243 Recce Battalion, Ibereko, Badagry, Col. Nicholas Rume, to lead his men to the area to contain what could have degenerated into further loss of lives.

The JBPT later released the student’s corpse to the family for burial.

Abdullahi Hussain, the spokesman for the Seme Customs Area Command, confirmed the incident.

According to him, the security operatives were attacked by rice smugglers using bush paths in Irosu.