From GBENGA ADESUYI, Ibadan
Five officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) were yesterday arraigned for killing a suspected smuggler in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The accused were arraigned before Justice S. A. Akinteye at the Oyo State High Court Six on a two-count charge. They were docked for allegedly killing one Sola Oguntade at Ilupeju/Bakatari area of Ibadan on February 27, 2011.
They all pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them. At the hearing yesterday, a witness, Mr. Kayode Joseph, who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Kayode Babalola, gave details of how the first accused person allegedly fired the shot that snuffed life out of the deceased. Joseph recalled that the five men were at their usual spot in front of a petrol station at Ilupeju along the Abeokuta/Ibadan Road on the fateful day. According to him, two of the men went for Muslim prayers as it was around 2:00 pm while two others stayed back in their official Toyota Hilux van.
The fifth, he added, withdrew to a nearby tree under which he was reading newspaper. Joseph said the first accused person was busy with his newspaper when the deceased drove to the area from the Abeokuta end of the road in a green Toyota Carina car when the first accused fired at him at about 100 feet to the point where the Customs men checked the unregistered vehicle. He further said the four other members of the Customs team quickly ran to the scene of the killing, picked the corpse and drove away with it and the car, with the impression that they were taking him to the hospital.
look at! wy alwyz our security men dnt value life in nigeria?
Police yesterday,customs today,robbers and boko haram and kidnappers tomorrow, what kind Naija are we living in??? God abeg save US
THIS STORY IS NOT COMPETE,WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE CORPSE WAS PICKED UP.
Is death the penalty for smuggling? What custom post is at that spot that will require the use of a weapon.? Was the victim carrying a gun at that time? Like the policemen were withdrawn from the road, Custom men don’t need to be at Agbara, Shaki or at Ajilete. Custom services are better offered at the border points.
Been wicked is like somebody diggin his/her grave,all the security in Naigeria need to die becus they are our source of our problems.
Been wicked is like somebody diggin his/her grave,all the security Men in Naigeria need to die becus they are the source of our problems.
I pray de court would not carpetd de case. They shd dig into de root of de matter,to enable our security men have sanctity human live.
♍Ɣ dear, the rifle they were wit is licence to kill, S̶̲̥̅Ơ̴̴̴̴̴̴͡ no more ques or argue qed
may God help us in dis country nigeria
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Custom men are the most corrupt it was this attitude of corruption that swept in to the veins of Nigeria police officers on our roads that police kills for just mere twenty naira,custom men are now following the foot step left by police so the only solution now is to withdraw them from our roads they should only be confine to border post
What are the Customs men looking for on the roads far away from the border points? Nigeria is one country where things are done without common sense, their staying on the roads is not to arrest but to extort money from innocent Nigerians. Those who found guilty of killing that unfortunate man should be given maximum sentence according murder case laws of our land.
Shame on to them!!!
They should be brought to justice for the crime.
These guys should better be at the border post not away from it ostensibly to extort money…moreover the custom men should be charged for murder…nothing else
The 5 Custom men are too wicked, killing an innocent business man was Struggling to eke out for the living of his family, this is wickedness in the highest places. They deserve tooth for tath. Foolish People.
customs should be directed to be staying only at the port of entry to the country not mounting check points like police on every road
custom is worst than police so there and there are pretenders and criminals so there need to remove out of road
For Gods sake, what and why should our stupid customer men be on the road in the first place. There Job is to mar the boarder, air port and sea port but the will collect money from there and also went to the highways and block the way to extort money for the second time. They have to pay with there own blood to see how sweet people feel when they were killed. Useless government and security agents
Ifoma..here i think is not 4 advert but 4 comment about d news
The could not extort money from him that is why the killed him.thieves. Let the full law take it course on them.
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Customs Comptroller had directed that all Customs officers should not mount check points at any other place except at d borders, a directive most customs officers have flouted with impunity due to greed. As far as I’m concerned, they’re on illegal duty & should be sentenced accordingly.
May hiz soul rest in peace. If it wz d smuggler wat do u expect him 2 do? Smuggler s evr ready 2 kill a customs officer,it ve bein happinin. These tak my mind 2 d newly customs officer postd 2 idiroko 2009 on dere 1st day a smuggler ol of them,so wat wil u cal diz. Smugglers are dangerouz. Why cant de jst pay d duty n oda cif charges.
Shame to Nigerians Customs
Please leave sentiments off this issue. Everyone know how deadly this smugglers can be. On many occasion they have shot dead many custom officers just to escape arrest. We must encourage security operatives so that they can work with strong spirit. Smuggling is against the Nigerian law and as such we must not condone the act out of sentiments.
I wonder when the road became check point or post for custom.Why are things done differently in Nigeria?
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It served the useless smuggler right. Idiotic.
I think the 5 custom officers are extremely wicked. The Controller General said they should leave the hinterland and go to the borders, yet they are still operating illegal checkpoints everywhere. They should be tried, prosecuted, jailed and dismissed. This will teach the remaining ones lessons of their lives.
This is another illegal killing,why in this country human life is so meaningless to all these lawless officer, so called our security.i think they deserve hanging to death for their wrong doing.
customs men are supose to be at the country border , sea port etc not inside tawn killing innocent people that are struggling for daily bred for their family. foolish people.
Blood 4 blood, no story.
Tooth for tooth,
hand for hand and
life for life.
That’s the only justice.
I ASK IF IS NOT SHAME THAT ADVISER TO PRESIDENT ON SECURITY MATTER TELL THE WHOLE WORLD ON BBC THAT NIGERIAN IS ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE FANATICS HAS BEEN SUBDUE.
he just say that to claim what we don’t know, is well open in the world that is only Nigerian don’t have single security. if we have where did boko haram ammunition pass through before they use it, where did all arm rubbers in Nigerian get weapon they use. is only in Nigerian a police office is waiting to confirm accident from armless citizen while he officer and his boys will be in station waiting to confirm crime or incident. other nation police will be there to prevent the incident to avoid happening at all, but Nigerian is a different case. i mean we don’t have security because where a boarder patrol officer can allow foreigner to enter any how without checking them but they will persist to take money from a citizen before you enter your own country, a country where one who give information to police become a victim, a country where boko haram shot people for 2 hours without any security interruption or can police tell the whole world that they did not hear the gun sound, is there duty to know where a gun sound is coming from and why it shots. a country where leaders are afraid to metion Boko Haram and direct security issue to oil bonkers, kidnappers and use boko haram which is prince issue of security in conclusion. Nigerian security need intelligent, willingness and humanitarian, and understanding training
THE FIVE PUNK ASS KILLERS DESERVE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!
Just listen to their stories, some of them went for prayer and the other one was reading newpapers and the remaining 2 was watching for the criminal as they tag. Some time ago I read about a high custom office asking his men to let people be, if they want to find if cars are well cleared they should see the dealers and not the users. Pls am beging Federal Government to look into what our security men has turn us to. If Police did not Kill the Soldiers will, if Custom did not Navy will and so on and so fort. We are not in a Civil war, our security men should value life. There is nothing important than life. In most of African Countries what we hear in Nigeria will never happen there let to talk of western world. Our Government should let this people to know that life means everything.
is God knows the true b\w the man and custom
THE SUN NEWS, YOUR STORY IS INCONCLUSIVE. ARE YOU TIRED OF WRITING?
our security agents should stop extra-judicial killing and respect the sanctity of human lives. justice should have its course. As a legal student,i am highly concerned and disillusioned with the ugly trend of jungle justice prevalent in Nigeria these days.Aluu V. Uniport 4. people including security agents should know that Courts are there to try cases!
wt dose men in d name of cust om r doin on high ways is wrng dey r jst out dere 2 seize cars 4rm poor nd inocent citizens who suferd nd manadged 2 save money nd buy a sml car,nd d ironical aspt of it is dey dash their girlfrnds nd their ogas dose cars dey seized insade of returnng it 2 their onwers.Custom services nd d laws dt establishd it shuld b reforme.They 2 zealous nd has no respct 4 any one dey met @ rd all dt dey after is money or dey seize ur car dts y dey always die lik chikens.
customs should be dis armed
legal armed robbers they are,if am chanced i will rule nigeria to good.we need to stop corruption by puting the criminal to prison,our justice most be use not rule by money.
Nawa ooo. Wil Nigeria ever be good? Look at wot is happening now dat we ar not in d general Election front/mood. I wonda wot wil hapen in 2015. God plz com 4 our aid ooo!
Nigeria should ensure that offenders are punished according to law without fear or favour. These trigger-hungry officers are always under the illusion that they would get away unpunished. That’s why they act with impunity.
What is the duty of Custom Officials? Answer me. Government should look into the criminal background of people before hiring them to such sensitive positions of service. Some of these guys are clueless and very myopic.
What is wrong with our security men self anyway let give them 2 chance for a change by putting in prison for some year.
The law does not condemn any one until one is jugded and found wanting, so why using the bulet on unjugded one?
God have mercy on them
dis news is incomplete
they are not traind on how to manage setuations but to collect bribe and make returns. We are a laughing stock to the western world.
This is one of the excesses of our uniformed men. Through their unethical practices they lost the respect that should be accorded them.
You can, see even customs men can go a long way in killing innocent citizen that is searching for his daily bread. Answer this questions,is Nigeria not a failed state? Why do you people derived joy in destroying human life? Who takes care of this man,s nuclear family now? A child without proper education, wouldn’t, he or she turned to be street urching in near future? What becomes of Nigerians that will eventually live as their neighbours in future? Can rightful judgment be delivered just as they have pleaded not guilty on the lips as against true conscience? Oh! my God, who will restructure this nation called Nigeria?
I think we should hear both parties speak before running conclusive blames on the officers. For Christ sake,these people are humans like you and i. Defending the Nigerian identity. No body will just fire without accusations or conversation which was never recorded here. Just see a man in a car and then just fire him. Does that make any sense? Lets reason this
All the people that made comments are just talking on what they don’t know,does it mean that Nigerians too can always do the wrong things without recourse to the law of the land,all of you are just opening your mouth to say something because you want to talk.there should be fairness in whatever you say or do to avoid God’s punishment on you for being one-sided.looking at the story ,how can somebody be reading paper,all of a sudden ,raised up his and see somebody 100 meters away and shot at the person.you people should think very well before passing judgement onto Custom officers ,only because you people do not like them and you want to evade payment of duty.be fair in your judgement.
Those commentators are only talking from both sides of there mouth,ignore them
Our security agencies need training & retraining. Not ruling out character reformation, our people should stop sweeping cases like this under the carpet . Every man should bear responsibility for his actions