Nigeria News

Chaos As as Custom Officer’s Stray Bullet Hits Primary Six Pupil

Published

6 April 2018

7:42 PM

Customs Stray Bullet Injures Primary Six Pupil

A stray bullet allegedly fired by officers of the Nigeria Custom Service, Katsina State Command, Operation Unit has hit one Salisu Bello, a primary five pupil of Morawa Primary School in Batagarwa Local Government Area of Katsina state.

The victim, who sustained injuries on his left hand and neck was rushed to General Hospital, Katsina, by Asiya Abubakar, the Headmistress of the school, accompanied by other class teachers and some of the victim’s relatives.

Confirming the development to newsmen at the hospital, Asiya Abubakar, the Headmistress of Morawa Primary School, said the boy was hit by a stray bullet fired by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service pursuing rice smugglers, calling on government at all levels to put mechanism in motion stop ‘illegal killing and injuring of innocent persons’ in the state.

On his part, Aminu Bello, Principal Personnel Officer of Batagarawa Local Government Education Authority, who was also at the hospital, admonished the state government to put an end to what he described as “ frequent killing” of residents by Customs officers in the state.

Bello, according to an eyewitness’ account, was hit by the stray bullet as Customs officers in hot pursuit of a J5 vehicle loaded with smuggled rice and second-hand bales of clothes began to fire shots sporadically in the area.

The incident, which was said to have occurred at about 9: 30am led to pandemonium in the school as teachers and pupils fled the school for safety.
His words, “We are not happy with this situation in the state. Government should come to our rescue because Customs officers are killing our people in the state and ensure that this scenario is stopped.”

However, one Ibrahim, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the State command of Nigeria Custom Service has denied knowledge of the incident, saying “the Command is not aware of the incident”.

According to report gathered from the 11-year-old boy on his sickbed at the Katsina General Hospital, on Friday,

“It was Customs officers that shot me when I was coming out from my school during break time to buy something by the roadside”.