Suspected smuggler kills customs officer while evading arrest in Jigawa

Hamza Abdullahi-Elenwo, an inspector with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has died after a suspected smuggler’s vehicle knocked him down.

The incident took place on Friday during a stop-and-search at Achilafia along the Daura-Kano road in Jigawa state.

Isah Sulaiman, spokesperson of the NCS operations unit, zone B, Kaduna, said the suspect has been detained by the police in Jigawa.

”The incident happened when a vehicle, suspected of being smuggled into the country struck the operative while attempting to evade arrest,” Sulaiman said on Saturday.

“The late officer was rushed to General Hospital Kazaure and later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Katsina, where he was pronounced dead by the doctor on duty.”

The spokesperson quoted Ahmadu Shuaibu, comptroller of the federal operations unit, zone B, as saying the suspect will face the wrath of the law.

Shuaibu said the incident shows the dangers faced by customs officers in the war against smuggling.

The deceased officer joined the NCS in October 2013 and was promoted to the rank of inspector of customs (IC) in 2022.

Abdullahi-Elenwo, an indigene of Port Harcourt in Rivers, is survived by a wife and two children.