An Assistant Superintendent of Customs, Destiny Onebamho who shot and killed an unarmed civilian, Destiny Onajo at the Sagamu Interchange along Ijebu Ode road, Ogun State, has been discharged from the hospital after he was attacked by motorists following the killing and is currently being investigated by a panel set up by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
A February 17, 2019 video, which went viral on social media, showed how Onebamho shot Onoja dead on the highway during an argument. A woman in the video had alleged that the killing was “because of N5,000” bribe allegedly demanded from travellers in a vehicle intercepted by a Customs patrol team.
Angry motorists had pounced on the killer officer after he attempted to escape the scene of the incident.
Customs Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah had in a statement said while four of the officers involved in the shooting and killing of the man had been detained, the panel set up to investigate the killing could not conclude its investigation because the officer who allegedly shot Onoja was receiving medical attention.
But speaking to SHIPS & PORTS at the weekend, Attah said the officer is now medically fit to face the investigative panel after which the panel would conclude its investigation and recommend appropriate sanctions.
He said, “He has been released from the hospital and he has come to face his own round of investigation. His case was a matter of life and death and he was lucky to have survived it. They would have killed him but fortunately he survived. He is now medically fit to face the investigative panel.
“We will soon get to know now the outcome of the investigation now that the officer has been released from hospital. I think now that he is available, investigation will be concluded but I cannot pre-empt the investigation panel.”
In a separate development, Customs officers attached to the Ogun Area Command of the NCS on Thursday clashed with smugglers over foreign parboiled rice reportedly smuggled into the country at Adisba, a settlement after Owode in Ogun State.
Public Relations Officer of the Command, Abdulahi Maiwada, who gave the account of the incident in a press statement, said the anti-smuggling unit of the Command intercepted some vehicles loaded with smuggled rice at Adisba around 6pm on Thursday.
He said effort by the operatives to secure the seizure, which were suspected to have emanated from an area called Adodo, was met with stiff resistance by the hoodlums who attacked the officers.
He said, “In an effort to secure the seizure as usual, the hoodlums attacked our officers on legitimate duty in a pervasive effort to obstruct the seizure. A careful analysis of the situation coupled with the nature of the terrain famous in creating chaos to scuttle the protection of society against economic saboteurs necessitated a tactical retreat to avoid any casualty.
“Furthermore, the team immediately called for reinforcement. The prompt response by the reinforcement teams in conjunction with other sister agencies brought the situation under control.
“Information available to us revealed that no casualty was recorded and our operatives have fortified the area to ensure that law and order prevail.”
