The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed the reports alleging that the agency seized and distributed bags of rice, which had led to the death of persons, including a soldier at Badagry.
Recall that parents and relatives have been sending voice messages to their children and loved ones, warning them against buying or consuming rice, because a foreign trader had reportedly invoked the spirit of Ogun deity after her two trucks of rice were stolen and smuggled into Nigeria.
In a voice note that has been widely circulated on social media, the speakers alleged that two trucks of rice were stolen from a neighbouring country and were later smuggled into Nigeria through the Idiroko border and the Seme border.
They disclosed that the owner of the bags of rice, a woman, contacted some Ogun worshipers in Ghana to lay curses on whoever buys or consumes the alleged stolen rice.
In a voice note, it was claimed that some Customs officers and a soldier had died in Badagry, Lagos State.
But, in a statement issued on Thursday and signed by spokesperson Isah Sulaiman, the NCS declared that the allegations regarding multiple deaths linked to allegedly poisoned rice released by the agency are false and baseless.
The agency further clarified that no such incident occurred within the command’s area or among its personnel, adding that the widely circulated audio does not accurately represent the situation.