
The House of Representatives has resolved to probe the unrest in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State caused by killing of indigenes by men of the Nigerian Customs Service.
They also mandated the committee on Customs and Excise, to invite the comptroller general with a view to working out a compensation plan for the families of those who lost their lives to the ugly incident.
The resolutions was sequel to the adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance, brought by Hon. Shina Peller, from Oyo State.
He noted in his presentation that under chapter II of the nation’s constitution, it shall be the duty of all organs of government and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of the chapter of the constitution
“Section 14(2)(b) of this chapter further states that ‘’the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”, he said.
Recalling the unfortunate happening, Peller said: “On Thursday 13th of may 2021 the custom men, according to eye witnesses were in pursuit of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) conveying bags of rice when they started shooting sporadically and in the process five people were killed. It was a sad day as the people were celebrating the EID-El-FITRI in the Oja- Oba area of the ancient town, the names of the victims are Oluwatobi, Timothy, Wasiu , Abdulazeez Abdullahi and Umar Abu.”
He said this act of the men of the Nigerian Customs Service shows total negligence, abuse of authority, gross misconduct, and disregard for human lives.
He said the tragedies would have been avoided if the Customs officials had been properly cautioned and trained in the process of recruiting them.
He added:”Killings by custom officers in the guise of pursuing smugglers is a recurring saga in the country and something must be done urgently to put an end to it. Relevant questions must be asked: are bags of rice worth more than human lives? Even if they were smugglers, must the custom officers open fire on them?Must they pursue smugglers? These and many more questions needs to be asked to forestall a future occurrence,”he added.
The resolution urged the Federal Government to review the rules of engagement of the Nigerian Customs Service as it relates to arms usage.It also called for the arrest and prosecution of erring officers and make sure of adherence to the rule of customs officers not exceeding 40km from the borders.