Families of those killed by ‘customs officers’ in Oyo demand N4.5bn compensation

The families of those allegedly killed by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Iseyin, a town in Oyo state, have demanded compensation to the tune of N4.5 billion.

TheCable had reported how a shootout between customs officers and rice smugglers resulted in the death of some residents in the area in May.

Following the reported killing, the house of representatives mandated its committee on customs to investigate the matter.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Olugbenga Akinlabi, counsel to the bereaved families, in addition to the compensation, demanded the prosecution of officers involved in the alleged killing.

“According to the information we had, some men of the Nigeria Customs chased some smugglers from the border town into the community,” he said.

“Iseyin is a community that is populated and people were coming from the prayer ground; there were indiscriminate shootings into the air by men of the Nigeria Customs.

“As a result of their shooting, the casualties namely Samson Oluwatobi, 30 years; he’s represented here today by Mrs Bosede Akinlotan; Yekini Adbulahi, he’s represented here today by Azeez Rasheed; Timothy Gbadegeshi is represented here today by Gbadegeshi Mathew and Wasiu Adesokan is represented here today by Adewale Adesokan.

“Also, Muraina Taiwo who is here sustained a gunshot in three places in his body. He was lifeless, it was God that made him recover from the gunshot. The rest whose names were mentioned did not survive it.

“These individuals who lost their lives have relatives and dependents. Life has become a problem to the families left behind by the deceased and also Muraina Taiwo who is alive today could not return to his work. So he needs to be compensated so that he can be restored and able to make a living for himself.

“They have so much faith in this house (house of representatives) and they believe justice will be done and justice will be served. They are asking for the perpetrators of this heinous crime to be identified and be brought to book. They are asking for an apology.

“In respect for the disease, they are asking for compensation to the tune of N1 billion each for each family and for Muraina who sustained gunshot injury is asking for N500 million. That is a total of N4.5 billion for the dependents and the injured.”

In a related development, families of persons allegedly killed by customs officers in Ibarapa area of Oyo state have demanded the sum of N350 million as compensation.

The panel also queried customs over the incident that resulted in the deaths of more than eight persons in Jibia, Katsina state.

The customs which was represented by E. I. Edorhe, deputy comptroller general, denied any wrongdoing.

Leke Abejide, chairman of the committee, said the investigative hearing was set up to ensure that the matter is resolved, adding that the report will be presented to the house.