Reps Recommend N390m Compensation For Extrajudicial Killings By Customs

The House of Representatives has asked the Nigeria Customs Service to compensate victims of extrajudicial killings and injuries caused by its officers across the country with a total of N390,000,000.

This is based on the recommendations in the reports by the House Committee on Customs and Excise after investigating two incidents in Oyo State and one incident in Katsina State.

Chairman of the Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, had last week laid the reports, which the House considered and adopted in plenary on Tuesday.

The committee had investigated “the unrest in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State due to the killing of indigenes by men of the Nigeria Customs Service.”

The House upheld the committee’s recommendation that “life has no duplicate and cannot be replaced once lost, as such, the families of the deceased should be compensated in monetary terms, each soul lost at the Iseyin incidence be compensated by the Nigeria Customs Service with the sum of N20, 000,000 each. The number of souls lost being four; the value of total compensation for the four deceased is N80, 000,000 only.”

The recommendation further read, “For the person who sustained a gunshot injury in the Iseyin incident, the sum of N2,000,000 only be paid as compensation for the treatment of the injuries sustained.

“The grand total for compensation for both the deceased and the injured is the sum of N82,000,000 only.

“The officers involved in the acts of killings of innocent Nigerians should be brought to book, prosecuted, and punished accordingly to serve as a deterrent to others.”

The committee, on the “murder of innocent people” in Jibia, Katsina State, by men of the NCS on August 9, 2021, recommended that “each soul lost at Jibia LGA incident should be compensated with the sum of N20,000,000 each by the Nigeria Customs Service. The number of souls lost being 10 people; the value of total compensation for the deceased is N200,000,000 only.”

The committee further recommended, “The 13 persons who sustained a gunshot injury in the Jibia incident should be paid the sum of N2,000,000 each as compensation by the Nigeria Customs Service for the treatment of the injuries sustained.

“The value of total compensation is N26,000,000 only. The grand total payable by the Nigeria Customs Service as compensation for both the deceased and the injured should be the sum of N226,000,000 only.”

Similarly, the committee investigated “the brutal murder at Igangan, Igboora, Ayete, Tapa in Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo State by men the Nigerian Customs Services.”

Consequently, the panel recommended that each soul lost at the Iseyin incident be compensated by the NCS with the sum of N20, 000,000 each. “The number of souls lost being four; the value of total compensation for the four deceased is N80,000,000 only,” it added.

The recommendation partly read, “For the person who sustained a gunshot injury in the Iseyin incident, the sum of N2,000,000 only be paid as compensation for the treatment of the injuries sustained.

“The grand total of compensation for both the deceased and the injured is the sum of N82,000,000 only.

“The officers involved in the acts of killings of innocent Nigerians should be brought to book, prosecuted and punished accordingly to serve as a deterrent to others.”

The committee further recommended that “provision should be made for procurement of ballistic vehicles (bulletproof), bulletproof vests and helmets urgently for Nigeria Customs Service to confront the daredevil smugglers attacking their officers at Border Stations whenever the smugglers opened fire on them. This would encourage Nigeria Customs Service to be able to curtail smuggling with fewer casualties on their side

“That as constant conflict with communities is counterproductive and unsustainable, the Nigeria Customs Service should aggressively deepen its engagement with traditional rulers, community stakeholders, host communities, relevant trade associations, local police networks and local security outfits to prevent future loss of lives and property on all sides.”