Gunmen, suspected smugglers, killed two police officers on Thursday. Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Kabiru Shehu and Abdullahi Muhammad in Kebbi State.
The incident occurred at around 1:00 p.m. on the Bunza-Dakin Gari-Koko highway when the suspects were detained for search following intelligence reports received by the NCS.
Twenty-four hours after the Kebbi incident, another service officer, Haruna A., was injured by suspected smugglers in Katsina state.
The service in Kebbi state said the two officers were shot dead during a heavy firefight with the suspected terrorists who were in an ash-colored Toyota Corolla. The smugglers also stole an AK 47 rifle belonging to one of the deceased.
“In the melee that followed, two members of the Command, named Alhaji Kabiru Shehu, Customs Inspector, and Abdullahi Muhammad, Customs Assistant II, paid the ultimate price. Since then, the officers have been buried according to Islamic rites. While praying for the repose of the deceased, the Command has launched a search for the suspects with a view to arresting and prosecuting them,” said Mubarak Mustapha, a customs spokesman in Kebbi state, in a statement sent to Newslodge on Friday.
Katsina Smugglers Injure Officer
The service’s Federal Operations Unit Zone B command said one of its officers, whose name was only given as Haruna A, was attacked by smugglers and thugs while carrying out his official duties on Friday.
Haruna was attacked in Dankama, a border community in Katsina state.
“While carrying out their legal anti-smuggling duties, some thugs suspected of being smugglers launched a brutal attack on the officers with dangerous weapons, thus inflicting several injuries on Customs Inspector (CI) Haruna A. The injured officer was immediately taken away to hospital for appropriate medical attention and is responding to treatment.
“It is pertinent to state that the Nigerian Customs Service is an agency that has the responsibility of enforcing government tax policies for the collective social good. The officers of the unit would not stand by and allow smugglers who do not respect the laws of the country to perpetrate their nefarious activities to the detriment of our security and economic well-being,” said Isa Sulaiman, spokesperson for the FOU in Katsina state. in a sentence.
He stated that “any further attack on any officer in the unit would not be tolerated and would be dealt with with the utmost resistance by our officers.”
disturbing trend
The two separate attacks are not new to customs officers and residents of the two states. Both states share borders with the Republic of Niger.
In July this year, a customs official, Aminu Abdullahi, was killed by a smuggler in the Yauri area of the state during a stop and search operation.
In 2022, the then commander of the customs area in Katsina state, Dalha Chedi, lamented how The terrorists collaborated with the smugglers. to attack the checkpoints.
In May 2022, two service patrols were burned by suspected terrorist gunmen in Katsina. A customs agent he was also killed by the terrorists in September of that year.
“This is a worrying trend that needs to be addressed immediately,” said Musa Buhari, a security affairs analyst at Katsina.
“This is not new. Smugglers are attacking customs officials, but we’ve also seen residents sometimes help smugglers evade arrest, and with the current security situation in the north, I don’t think this should be allowed to continue because it will only get worse. the situation. situation.”
He said the customs office needs to try new initiatives to ensure its staff are safe.
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