The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has warned its officers against indiscriminate shooting while fighting against the smuggling of contraband goods into the country.
The NCS said this following an unfortunate incident that occurred at Ilashe along the Idiroko border in the Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun state in which Fausat Oyede, a 45-year-old mother of five, was mistakenly shot dead last Thursday by a Customs officer (name withheld).
Speaking with journalists at the weekend, the Ogun State Customs Comptroller, Francis Ade Dosunmu, who said that officers are not employed to shoot and kill while on patrol, also added that it was high time NCS takes definite and repelling action against gangster officers.
Dosunmu however vowed that the trigger-happy officer would face criminal charges if found guilty. He also assured the family and the children of the deceased of Customs’ support.
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He disclosed that the officer had been handed over to the police for prosecution after he had earlier undergone an orderly room trial, under the supervision of top Customs officers.
“It is not within the purview of the Nigerian Customs to investigate a Homicide case, that is why we have transferred him to the police for proper investigation and to determine the level of culpability so that appropriate sanction will be carried against him”.
He however, appealed to the people of the communities around the border area not to take laws into the hand, because such will lead to destruction of property and other valuables.
Speaking earlier, Gafar Oyede, an uncle to the deceased, who solicited the assistance of Customs headquarters in training the five children left behind by Fausat Oyede, also admonished the NCS on the need to shift its check points from inside towns, which he said, had caused accident and incessant killing of people in communities around the Idiroko border in the past few months.
