Residents Attack Customs Over Iseyin Killings

The Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District in the Senate, Abdulfatai Buhari, has assured the people of Iseyin that he would collaborate with other stakeholders to bring the perpetrators of the Eid Fitr killings in the town to justice.

Buhari, who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Land Transport, said this in a statement on Friday.

Men of Nigerian Customs Service had on Thursday shot dead five residents of Iseyin while pursuing a sport utility vehicle suspected to be loaded with foreign rice.

The senator spoke as some youths in the town accused Customs officers of having no regard for lives of the people of the town.

One of the youths. Rasak Ogunwale, said Thursday killing was not the first time the law enforcement agency would kill in the town.

Ogunwale said, ” They have declared war on our people and I think the best way to curb it is to also declare war on them.

” They cannot continue to be wasting the lives of our people and expect us to be clapping for them, it is not possible.”

Another youth, Yomi Idris, told our correspondent that the whole town was thrown into mourning following the killing.

Idris said, ” People are mourning in Iseyin now. The killings have become too frequent.

“Those who were killed were not part of the smugglers. While would they make the innocent to pay for the crime they knew nothing about with their lives. That is gross negligence and wickedness. We won’t allow this to continue.”

Senator Buhari said he received with rude shock the killing of five youths in Iseyin by Customs men within the city.

The statement read, “I’ve done my skeletal findings and I confirmed that one of the victims was killed on his motorcycle going to his family compound to celebrate Edil Fitr with his family members while another one was killed while working on his motorcycle at a vulcanizer workshop.

“These are some of the information we need to work with in order to make sure that those who killed our youths are made to face the consequences.

” It’s also gathered that none of the Customs officers sustained injuries or killed in the fracas between the officers and rice smugglers within Iseyin.

“As representative of my people in government, I’ve started my investigation and shall do that to unravel all the hidden truths about the sad occurrence.”