How Juju Power Failed Notorious Smuggler at Seme, Now in Customs Custody
TIMI BOMODI, CUSTOMS AREA CONTROLLER, SEME
By Francis Ugwoke
Dare devil armed robbers hardly operate without relying on fetish powers. The idea is to ensure that they are not wounded or captured during their heinous operations when they disarm or kill their victims and cart away properties. Many times, they succeed and continue to enjoy their loots. And they remain in the trade, making it a clear source of livelihood. But other times, they fail and it becomes a sad story. The case of notorious armed robbers who succeeded in many operations abound, yet they fell. The powers they relied on failed them. That was what happened in the case of late Lawrence Anini of Benin, Edo State and his gang of about four decades now. There have been many others like that.
Just like robbers, smugglers operating across the border posts are hardened criminals who depend on fetish powers to also operate. Like robbers, they also have powers to evade arrest. They can disappear when the need arises, and therefore remain a big pain to the law enforcement agents, particularly the Customs operatives.
This was exactly the case of a notorious smuggler who was arrested recently by the Seme Customs Command. According to the Area Controller of Seme, Comptroller Timi Bomodi, the smuggler whose name was not disclosed has had “a reputation for dealing with our officers” for some times.
Bomodi who spoke to SHIPPING DAY in an exclusive chat said “the smuggler will be arraigned in court and hopefully face the full wrath of the law”.
The Controller was responding to a question on whether any officer in the Command had lost his life while carrying out their duties as witnessed in some other commands.
He said that though no officer in the Command lost his life since he assumed officer late last year, he however expressed displeasure over the activities of a notorious smuggler who has been arrested.
Bomodi who expressed joy over the arrest of the smuggler, said “his journey of tyranny has come to an end”.
He told SHIPPING DAY, “The work of enforcement is a very risky one. So, in the process of carrying out their duties, officers are injured. We have not had any fatality among our officers at least for the time that I have been here. Recently, we made an arrest of one of the very notorious smuggler who had a reputation for dealing with our officers. “Fortunately, his journey of tyranny has come to an end. He has been arrested, will be arraigned in court and hopefully will face the full wrath of the law”.
When asked what he meant when he said the smuggler has been dealing with the officers, he explained that this had to do with the fetish powers of the smuggler and his belief that he is so fortified and cannot be touched.
Bomodi said, “ he did not kill anybody, but you know you don’t have to kill somebody to instil fear in them. You know they come fortified with all kinds of things, things that will make them invisible, untouchable, but unfortunately, when his time came, even what he thought he had as protection for himself could not offer any protection to him. So, that chapter has ended for him. And we made a point to arrest him just to make it clear to others who may be modelling their own actions in line with what he was displaying that no matter how tough you think you are, no matter how fortified you think you are, if the intention is to intimidate our officers, we cannot be intimidated. If it is to frighten us, we will not be frightened – if it is to deter us from carrying out our jobs, we will not be deterred, we will get that person, put them where they belong and we hope others will learn from the examples we set with these individuals”.
Dare devil armed robbers hardly operate without relying on fetish powers. The idea is to ensure that they are not wounded or captured during their heinous operations when they disarm or kill their victims and cart away properties. Many times, they succeed and continue to enjoy their loots. And they remain in the trade, making it a clear source of livelihood. But other times, they fail and it becomes a sad story. The case of notorious armed robbers who succeeded in many operations abound, yet they fell. The powers they relied on failed them. That was what happened in the case of late Lawrence Anini of Benin, Edo State and his gang of about four decades now. There have been many others like that.
Just like robbers, smugglers operating across the border posts are hardened criminals who depend on fetish powers to also operate. Like robbers, they also have powers to evade arrest. They can disappear when the need arises, and therefore remain a big pain to the law enforcement agents, particularly the Customs operatives.
This was exactly the case of a notorious smuggler who was arrested recently by the Seme Customs Command. According to the Area Controller of Seme, Comptroller Timi Bomodi, the smuggler whose name was not disclosed has had “a reputation for dealing with our officers” for some times.
Bomodi who spoke to SHIPPING DAY in an exclusive chat said “the smuggler will be arraigned in court and hopefully face the full wrath of the law”.
The Controller was responding to a question on whether any officer in the Command had lost his life while carrying out their duties as witnessed in some other commands.
He said that though no officer in the Command lost his life since he assumed officer late last year, he however expressed displeasure over the activities of a notorious smuggler who has been arrested.
Bomodi who expressed joy over the arrest of the smuggler, said “his journey of tyranny has come to an end”.
He told SHIPPING DAY, “The work of enforcement is a very risky one. So, in the process of carrying out their duties, officers are injured. We have not had any fatality among our officers at least for the time that I have been here. Recently, we made an arrest of one of the very notorious smuggler who had a reputation for dealing with our officers. “Fortunately, his journey of tyranny has come to an end. He has been arrested, will be arraigned in court and hopefully will face the full wrath of the law”.
When asked what he meant when he said the smuggler has been dealing with the officers, he explained that this had to do with the fetish powers of the smuggler and his belief that he is so fortified and cannot be touched.
Bomodi said, “ he did not kill anybody, but you know you don’t have to kill somebody to instil fear in them. You know they come fortified with all kinds of things, things that will make them invisible, untouchable, but unfortunately, when his time came, even what he thought he had as protection for himself could not offer any protection to him. So, that chapter has ended for him. And we made a point to arrest him just to make it clear to others who may be modelling their own actions in line with what he was displaying that no matter how tough you think you are, no matter how fortified you think you are, if the intention is to intimidate our officers, we cannot be intimidated. If it is to frighten us, we will not be frightened – if it is to deter us from carrying out our jobs, we will not be deterred, we will get that person, put them where they belong and we hope others will learn from the examples we set with these individuals”.
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