Customs Officer killed at checking point by Smuggler
The Zone ‘B’ Unit of Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations (FOU), Kaduna, has lost one of its operatives to the cold hand of death, using a suspected smuggler as an instrument.
The suspect, currently in the custody of Gwiwa Police Divisional Headquarters in Jigawa State, had ferociously hit the victim, Hamza Abdullahi Elenwo, an Inspector of Customs (IC), while attempting to escape with a suspected smuggled vehicle.
A press statement issued by the unit’s Public Relations Officer (CPRO), SC Isah Sulaiman, disclosed that the ugly incident occurred at Achilafia on the Daura-Kano Road in Jigawa State on Friday, July 12, during a stop-and- search operation.
“The late Operative was rushed to the General Hospital, Kazaure, and later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Katsina, where he was pronounced dead by the doctor on duty. The deceased has been laid to rest in Katsina, according to Islamic rites”, the statement disclosed.
The deceased, who hailed from Port Harcourt in Rivers State, was born on April 15,1985, and was enlisted into the Nigeria Customs Service as Customs Assistant III (CAIII) in the Transport and Logistics Unit on October 17, 2013.
He was promoted to Inspector of Customs (IC) in 2022. He is survived by a wife and two children.
Meanwhile, the head of Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘B’, Comptroller Ahmadu Shuaibu, on behalf of the entire officers and men of the unit, has extended his heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family, and prayed for his eternal rest.
Comptroller Shu’aibu, however, asserted that the incident affirmed the level of desperation by smugglers operating without recourse to human lives, adding that it was also one of the many instances where smugglers kill and maim personnel of the Service in an attempt to evade arrest.
The Comptroller vowed to ensure justice is served as one suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident, adding that the unit’s operatives would not be deterred and would remain unwavering in the fight against smuggling.
