NIGERIAN CUSTOMS OFFICERS SHOOT PREGNANT LADY AND FLEE

Inde Dikko Abdullahi, Customs Boss

In what has been tagged an 'ACCIDENT', One Nigerian customs officer, name unknown at the moment has shot and killed a pregnant lady by name ALHAJA FAUSAT AYODE and fled for fear of being lynched by an angry mob of about 300 youths.

Preliminary investigation and eye witness accounts of the incidence suggest that the officers who were stationed at the Ilase Customs check point suspected that the oncoming vehicle was conveying smugglers and tried to intercept it, but when the taxi driver tried to manoeuvre past the checkpoint, one of the officers fired at the car hitting Alhaja Fausat and killing her and her unborn child instantly.

People said probably the officer tried to aim at the tyres of the vehicle to incapacitate it but miscalculated and accidentally hit one of the passengers.

Some customs officers stationed at the Ilase Customs checkpoint, on the  Owode-Idiroko Road, yesterday shot a passenger, Alhaja Fausat Ayode, who was pregnant, to death and absconded for fear of being lynched by an irate mob.

THISDAY gathered that pandemonium erupted in the area as the irate mob made to attack the customs officers who fled to their unit at Owode-Idiroko.

It was also gathered that when the officers who were deployed in the checkpoint from the Federal Operating Unit (FOU), Owode-Idiroko, absconded, the mob, numbering over 300, went on the rampage, and set the checkpoint on fire.

When contacted, the Commanding Officer, Nigerian Army 192 Battalion, Owode, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Ahmed, confirmed the incident, adding that peace had been restored to the area through the efforts of his men.

He said: "At the Customs checkpoint at Ilase, the Customs officers, acting on the suspicion that the said vehicle conveying the passengers, including the deceased person, were smugglers, tried to intercept it.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the taxi driver allegedly tried to manoeuvre past the checkpoint when the Customs officers fired at it.

"Eyewitness account said the officers probably tried to shoot at the tyres of the vehicle to incapacitate the car but he miscalculated and incidentally hit one of the passengers who  died on the spot."

He added: "I was informed by the Customs Controller General about the crisis and I mobilised my men to the area and restored peace because over 300 agitated youths from IIase and Idiroko had stormed and burnt down the checkpoint. The youths had also blocked the road causing serious traffic snarl.

"The speedy response by my men and the Operation MESA brought the situation under control and ensured that there was no casualty from the riot. For now, my men are still stationed in the area to forestall any recurrence of violence."

When contacted, the Customs Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Forward Operating Unit, Ikeja, Mr. Uche Ejesieme, did not debunk or confirm the story as he directed THISDAY to the spokesman for the  Idiroko unit.

Report by Chiemelie Ezeobi for ThisDay