By Esther Onyegbula

The family of Egun Jeremiah, the Immigration officer killed by his colleague while on duty at Seme border, has expressed frustration that police investigation into the incident was delaying the deceased’s burial.

A member of the family, who spoke on condition anonymity, said: “We have not been able to bury our dead because of ongoing investigation, which is taking forever.

“Can you imagine, they have not done the autopsy. How long would it take to carry out an autopsy, conclude their investigation and bring those involved to book?”

Lagos State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, told Vanguard yesterday that police was still investigating the case to determine the culpability of other officers on duty when the incident occurred.

He said: “At the moment, we are working with Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS. The service is taking time because we want to ensure that the case is thoroughly investigated.”

Killed on duty

It would be recalled that Egun Jeremiah was allegedly shot by one of his colleagues while on official duty with his colleagues along Seme-Badagry Expressway on January 24.

Vanguard learned that the officers intercepted a vehicle carrying some foreigners, who were illegally attempting to enter the country.

During interrogation, an argument ensued between the officers and the foreigners.

The argument was on when the driver of the vehicle invited thugs who attacked the officers with broken bottles.

When the attack became intense, the officers reportedly opened fire to scare the thugs, but one of the bullets hit Egun while he was trying to escape from the thugs.

‘How it happened’

One of the immigration officers (names withheld) told Vanguard: “The entire incident was a terrible mistake. It was a stray bullet that killed Egun while he was hiding from the thugs who attacked us with broken bottles.

“The driver, the foreigners and the thugs ran away immediately they heard sounds of gunshots.

“As soon as we realized that Egun had been hit, we rushed him to Badagry General Hospital. But he was confirmed dead on arrival by the doctor.”