By Levinus Nwabughiogu

House of Representatives, Tuesday, resolved to set up an Adhoc committee to probe killings allegedly committed by agents of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS in Ogun State.

This is coming barely two weeks the House after a series of investigations on killing of Nigerians by Customs officers in Katsina and Oyo States through its Committee on Customs and Excise Duty chaired by Hon. Leke Abejide awarded compensation of N390 million against the Service.

The House identified at least 5 persons alleged to have fallen to the guns of the officers.

The victims included Mrs. Fausat Bankole, a widow, and mother of three killed at Ilashe in Ipokia Local Government on 21 June 2017; Mr. Paul Ayomaya Oriyomi, an undergraduate, killed by Customs officers in the Ajilete area of Egbado South Local Government on the 22 October 2017 while returning home from church; Mr. Niyi Adesanmi, a young Law graduate also killed by the officers of Nigeria Customs Service at Aseko area of Ipokia Local Government on the 10 May, 2018 and Mr Jamiu Bello and one other person killed by men of the Nigeria Customs in Owode area of Egbado South Local Government on the 3rd of January, 2019.

Considering a motion titled “Incessant killings by Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service in Egbado South/Ipokia Federal Constituency of Ogun State”, presented by Hon. Kolawole Lawal at the plenary, the House urged the Federal Government to ensure that the officers who were complicit and indicted in the incidents were prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to other officers.

The House also urged the government to ensure that the families of all the deceased, as well as the injured ones at the scene of the Ihunbo incident where three students were killed, were given adequate financial compensation.

Presenting the motion at the plenary, Lawal noted that Egbado South/Ipokia Federal Constituency, a border Community of Ogun State was in need of enhanced security as the protection of lives and properties is the primary responsibility of government.

He recalled that Monday, October 7, 2019, men of the Nigeria Customs Service ran into some students of Ojumo Community High School, Ihunbo in Ipokia Local Government area of Ogun State who were returning from
school killed three students, and injured many others with their vehicle.

“On 1 May, 2020, Ridwan Bello, an SS2 Student of Area Community High School in Owode–Yewa was killed by a stray bullet and another killing by the men of NCS was recorded on 28 March, 2020
when a stray bullet hit 15-year-old Miss Sekinat Agbelade, an SS3 Student of Agosasa High School.

“In the past few months, Egbado South/Ipokia have been subjected to psychological trauma due
to incessant killings of law-abiding citizens by men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the guise of clamping down on smugglers.

“The incessant and sporadic shootings by men of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) have resulted in the death of several students and varying degrees of injury to many constituents of Egbado South/Ipokia.

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“Men of the NCS claimed that the accidental killings occurred in the course of discharging their duties while pursuing smugglers, which ended in the death of innocent people while the suspects escaped unharmed leaving the families of the deceased and the communities in deep grief for the irreparable loss of their loved ones.

“In spite of appeals to the leadership of the Nigerian Customs Service in Idiroko and an ongoing petition which is currently before the House of Representatives, the NCS personnel have continued to act in a wanton manner.”

The motion however generated concerns on whether or not the standing committee would be given the responsibility of probing the Service.

Earlier in his contribution to the debate, Abejide urged the lawmakers whose constituencies were within the border communities to educate their people against smuggling.

He however said he was not justifying the killings when asked by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

“There is need to educate our people. The day we invited customs officers to come and defend themselves, people say they don’t understand the difference between genuine officers and smugglers. I am not justifying killing because of smugglers They smugglers are the ones that will shoot first”.

A motion by Hon. Toby Okechukwu to have the probe conducted by the standing committee of the House however failed.

Adopting the motion, the House mandated the Committee on Customs and Excise to liaise with the Nigeria Customs Service to ensure that its officers were trained and retrained to avoid killing of innocent people and maintain professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

Vanguard News Nigeria