By Jennifer Omiloli
An NGO, Vanguards of Democracy has condemned the Nigerian Custom Service over its handling of the gruesome killing by one of its officers of a motorist over the weekend in Sagamu, vowing to shut down the Service if the culprit was not brought to book.
It would be recalled that a video has been trending online depicting the fatal shooting of an apparent innocent motorist, point blank, by a custom officer over his refusal to give a bribe of #5,000.
In a statement signed by Nze Ugo-Akpe Onwuka, its International Coordinator, the group described the statement issued by Custom in the aftermath of the fatal shooting as “grossly insensitive and an unacceptable insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians”
He berated the Public Relations Officer of the Customs Service DC Joseph Attah, who signed the statement for falling short of his responsibilities and demanded that he be relieved of his responsibilities.
“First of all, we demand that the Public Relations Officer who wrote that defense be suspended for bringing the Customs Service image he is meant to protect to ridicule and public disdain.
This is a very glaring evidence of gross incompetence and ineptness of a terrifying magnitude.
Reading the Press statement by DC Joseph Attah the Public Relations Officer, one would wonder what he would have written if this cold blooded act of shooting a man in broad daylight in a gang like style was not caught on live video.
We are particularly concerned about the response from the Customs Service because this singular action can be misconstrued to be a reflection of such an organization that should be an example of transparency and sincerity.
We are worried that with such a poor and abysmal handling of a sensitive case as this, the Public Relations Officer who put out that repugnant and puerile statement is going to bring serious integrity issues to the Customs Service, and must be redeployed immediately before he will cause more damages to the image of the reputable organization”.
The body further demanded that the officer who pulled the trigger be dully handed over to the law for justice to take its course.
The statement further resolved that it would mobilize Nigerians to occupy the Headquarters of the Customs Service if by Wednesday, the 20th of February 2019, the Service refuses to bring the trigger happy officer out to face the law.
“We shall ensure that this murder does not go away just like that” the statement said.
