The Nigeria Customs Service has come under fire from the Senate for the frequent killings and shootings of Nigerians, particularly those who reside in border towns.
The Senate specifically denounced the Customs agents’ indiscriminate shooting in Katsina State on July 13.
Following that, an ad hoc committee was established by Senate President Godswill Akpabio to look into claims of abuse and human rights breaches against the NCS.
The choice was made in response to a motion made by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua of Katsina Central, requesting that the Red Chambers look into the misuse of firearms by Customs employees.
During the presentation of his motion, Yar’Adua claimed that some Customs agents had been discovered to be incompetent in their handling of firearms, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of innocent persons.
On July 13, he asserted, some NCS members opened fire indiscriminately at the car carrying the governor of Katsina State’s chief of staff, Jabiru Tsauri, on the Gorar Yammama route.
Yar’Adua continued, “Some of the Customs agents also opened fire at the convoy of a former Katsina State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Umar Gwajo-Gwajo, when he was travelling from Daura to Mia’Adua LGA in September 2021.”
The congressman said that if the government didn’t stop NCS personnel from abusing their rifles, more innocent people might die and there could be retaliation from enraged civilians.
He consequently urged the Senate to denounce the events of July 13 and identify the policemen who fired at the government convoys.
In addition, he asked the Senate to urge the NCS to strengthen the training of its employees in the use of guns, especially when dealing with Nigerian people.
Several senators spoke in favour of the motion during a discussion about it.
In his speech, Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara West) asserted that NCS officers in Zamfara State had slain around ten of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters.
The majority of the voters who supported us in 2015 have all been killed, according to Yari. concerning 15 of them were killed by men from the Customs Service, according to my inquiry concerning the circumstances of their murders.
Therefore, the Senate President denounced the NCS officers’ indiscriminate shootings and killings of citizens who were discovered to be in possession of bags of rice.
“The Senate condemns the death of people because they were carrying a single bag of rice in its entirety. Too many lives are being lost, and we must stop this immediately. The senate should look at it because it’s a significant issue, Akpabio added.
The Senate then urged the NCS to find the negligent officers and conduct an investigation into the situation that prompted the Customs agents to shoot on unarmed individuals.
