Customs officer shoots 70-year-old dead for intervening in argument
The septuagenarian was allegedly shot dead by the officer while he was trying to intervene in an argument between some Customs operatives and youths in the community over a barrier erected on a road within the neighbourhood. The villagers put up the barrier – two poles on both sides of the road with a bamboo placed across them – to curb the recurring accidents caused by reckless motorists plying the route.
It was gathered that a team of six Customs officers in a Hilux van got to the spot around 12:00pm and saw Lamidi and his younger brother, Muritala Oke, who were returning from the farm. The officers were said to have ordered 66-year-old Muritala to remove the barrier so they could pass. But the man declined the order, telling them that motorists usually opened the barrier themselves and mounted it back after leaving the spot.
Enraged by the man’s response, the officers
reportedly disembarked from their operational vehicle and uprooted the barrier.
Muritala, who spoke to our correspondent on
Thursday, stated that some youths met the officers in the act and challenged
them. He said the officers responded by shooting indiscriminately, during which
the deceased intervened to make peace.
“As my brother and I were returning from the farm
that day, we met the Customs officers in a van at the spot where the barrier
was mounted. They asked us why we mounted the barrier and I explained to them
that many residents, especially children had been knocked down by speeding
vehicles. Till now, a resident, whose leg was broken in an accident on the
road, is at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“They shouted at me to remove the barrier and
asked if I did not know they were in a government vehicle. I explained to them
that it is drivers who remove the barrier and place it back. I told them that
policemen also ply the road in their vans and remove the barrier the way other
drivers do.
“Five of them pulled over in anger and started
destroying the barrier. They resorted to shooting as some youths tried to
caution them.
“My late brother sent the youths away and tried to
plead with the Customs officers. The sixth officer, who appeared to be their
team leader, came down from the vehicle and shot my brother directly in the
chest. They hurriedly entered their van and fled. They were in uniform and
Nigeria Customs Service was written on their van. We did not get to the
hospital before he died.”
Our correspondent learnt that the incident was
reported at the Ojongbodu Police Station and was later transferred to the
police headquarters in Iyaganku, Ibadan.
The deceased’s first child, Gafar, who lives in
Abuja, said his father had called him on the telephone that Monday morning,
adding that he was shocked when he got a call that the man had been shot dead.
The distraught widow, Adijatu Lamidi, said it was
“extremely painful” to lose Lamidi in such a cruel circumstance, lamenting that
she would live the rest of her life with the sad memory.
“My husband didn’t tell me he was going to die
when he bid me goodbye on Monday morning on his way to the farm. He called me
on the telephone when he got to the farm. I could not believe that would be our
last conversation,” the 60-year-old added painfully.
A resident, Afudol Jaleel, who said the Alafin of
Oyo had waded into the case, told our correspondent that two expended bullets
were recovered from the scene of the incident.
He said the barrier was erected after a consensus
was reached between the villagers and motorists who usually plied the road.
“I am wondering why the officer would shoot the
elderly man, who was trying to make peace. The police from Iyaganku came to
inspect the scene of the incident on Thursday. A representative of Alafin of
Oyo was also at the scene for assessment.
“Apart from the two expended bullets recovered by
the police, we had already picked six bullets from the scene and taken them to
the police,” Jaleel said.
When our correspondent contacted the Oyo State
Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, on Thursday, he said he
was aware of the incident and promised to get back with details. He had,
however, yet to do so as of press time. Several calls put across to his line
rang out and he did not reply to a text message sent to his phone.
The spokesperson for the Nigeria Customs Service,
Oyo/Osun Command, Abdullahi Lagos-Abiola, said the police had written to the
agency on the incident.
“But so far, I don’t know how authentic that
incident is. We have contacted all our men; we don’t have such an incident. One
thing again is that, officers from the headquarters or Federal Operation Unit
can come in and operate without seeking the permission of the command.
“As far as our officers in Oyo/Osun Command are
concerned, we don’t have such a case,” he added.
Punch
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