The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has reacted to the viral video of a man who was Sunday shot to death at Shagamu, along Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
Footage from the video showed the moment a custom officer cocked his gun and fired at a man for allegedly refusing to pay N5,000 demanded from him and other passengers of a white Toyota Hiace bus.
However, in a statement released few hours after the video went viral, the NCS said the deceased, identified only as Godwin, was not a passenger of the commercial vehicle “but a good citizen who always come to fetch water for Customs Patrol men anytime they returned to the base.”
Also Read: Video: Nigerian Customs Officer Kills Man Over N5,000
The statement which was signed by DC Joseph Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, said that the deceased was accidentally shot during a struggle to disarm the officer adding that the service had contacted the bereaved family.
While noting that an obstruction of lawful performance of duty led to the incident, the service said the passengers wanted to create the impression that the deceased was one of them.
“Sadly, it should be noted that while attention was shifted to the dead and the wounded, the passengers who filmed with inciting commentaries boarded their vehicle and left, leaving the wrong impression that it was one of them that was killed.
“While the wounded officer is under intensive care at the hospital, the patrol team has been recalled to the office for further investigation,” the statement read.
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