A suspected smuggler shot and killed a Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officer in Jigawa State.
The suspect who had been nabbed was trying to evade arrest.
According to Isah Sulaiman, spokesman for the Nigeria Customs Service’s Federal Operations Unit Zone B, the victim, Hamza Elenwo, a Customs Inspector, was slain on Friday during a stop and search operation in Achilafia on the Daura-Kano road in Jigawa State.
He stated that the incident occurred when a driver in a suspected smuggled vehicle hit the officer while attempting to flee capture.
The late Customs operative was transported to the General Hospital Kazaure before being transferred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Katsina, where the doctor on duty pronounced him dead.
According to Sulaiman, the deceased, who was from Port Harcourt in Rivers State, was laid to rest in Katsina in accordance with Islamic rituals.
Inspector Hamza, as we know him today, was born on April 15, 1985. He entered the Nigeria Customs Service as a Customs Assistant III (CAIII) in the Transport and Logistics Unit on October 17, 2013, and was promoted to the rank of Inspector of Customs (IC) in 2022. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Meanwhile, Comptroller Ahmadu Shuaibu, Head of Federal Operations Unit Zone B, expresses his profound condolences to the deceased’s family and prays for his eternal rest.
He said that the incident shows the level of desperation by smugglers operating without recourse to human lives,
The Customs boss said that the incident is also one of the many instances where smugglers kill and maim personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service in an attempt to evade arrest.
The Comptroller, however, vowed to ensure justice is served as one suspect has been arrested and is in the Custody of the Nigeria Police Force, Gwiwa Division in Jigawa State.