A 14-year-old teenager, Muhsin Ibrahim, died an early death after the driver of a J5 Peugeot struck onlookers in the Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The majority of the people that live in Jibia, one of Nigeria’s borders with the Niger Republic, have been involved in various cross-border activities for decades.
Surajo Aliyu, an eyewitness, told newsmen on Monday over the phone that the incident happened on Saturday at 11 a.m. near the Tudun Wada Primary School in Tashar Huraira Bus Stop while officials from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operating Unit, Zone B were en route to Jibia town to purchase food.
The J5 driver, he said, believed that the NCS officers were pursuing him as he was transporting soy beans. The startled driver struck an adjacent car in the direction of a gas station while he was confused.
“The unfortunate development happened on Saturday around 11:00 am when the Customs officials were on their way to buy food in Jibia town.
“A J5 driver who was conveying soya beans upon sighting them, frightened and matched brake and hit a car close to him, they both found their way into a filling station,” he said.
Reports state that in August 2021, while following a suspected rice smuggler in the same Jibia town, Nigeria Customs Service personnel in large numbers crashed into a gathering, resulting in the confirmed deaths of ten people and multiple injuries.
Aminu Masari, the governor of Katsina State at the time, promised to test the laws granting customs personnel the authority to kill innocent people in the state carelessly.