Reps Move To Compensate Families Of People Killed By Customs Operatives

The House of Representatives has moved to investigate the alleged killing of four persons in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State over 40 bags of rice, by men of the Nigerian Customs Service.

The lawmakers also mandated the committee on Customs and Excise to invite the comptroller general with a view to working out a compensation plan for the families of those who lost their lives to the ugly incident.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance, brought by Hon. Shina Peller, from Oyo State.

He noted in his presentation that “under Chapter II of our constitution, which is the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, ‘’it shall be the duty of all organs of government and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution.

“Section 14(2)(b) of this chapter further states that ‘’the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. “

Recalling the unfortunate happening, Pellet said: “On Thursday 13th of may 2021 the custom men, according to eye witnesses were in pursuit of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) conveying bags of rice when they started shooting sporadically and in the process five people were killed.

” It was a sad day as the people were celebrating the EID-El-FITRI in the Oja- Oba area of the ancient town. The names of the victims are Oluwatobi, Timothy, Wasiu , Abdulazeez Abdullahi and Umar Abu.

“This act of the men of the Nigerian Customs Service shows total negligence, abuse of authority, gross misconduct, and disregard for human lives. The customs men are supposed to be about 40kms to the border town.

” Convinced that if these men had been properly cautioned and trained in the process of recruiting them, bearing in mind that they carry arms, these tragedies would have been avoided.

“Killings by custom officers in the guise of pursuing smugglers is a recurring saga in the country and something must be done urgently to put an end to it. Relevant questions must be asked: are bags of rice worth more than human lives? Even if they were smugglers, must the custom officers open fire on them?

“Must they pursue smugglers? These and many more questions need to be asked to forestall a future occurrence”, he added.

While the resolution urged the Federal Government to review the rules of engagement of the Nigerian Customs Service as it relates to arms usage, it also called for the arrest and prosecution of erring officers.