Customs kill man in front of father’s shop in Katsina State

There is tension at Daddara village, in the Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, after some operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, shot dead a man identified as Amiru Abdulaziz in front of his father’s shop.

According to eye witnesses, the customs officials had intercepted some men who packed bags of suspected smuggled rice in a vehicle. The operatives, after impounding the rice and the vehicle, reportedly opened gunfire to ward off any reprisal from the smugglers.

Abdulaziz was said to have been hit by a stray bullet.  “He died on the way to a hospital,” a source said and has since been buried on Wednesday according to Islamic rites.

The spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, DSP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident, said the police were making efforts to “identify the real culprit.”

The Public Relations Officer, Kaduna/Katsina Command, NCS,  Theophilus Duniya, said he had yet to receive an official report on the incident.  “I will brief you as soon as a comprehensive report is made,” he added.