The Senate has set-up an ad-hoc committee to immediately investigate the involvement of the Nigerian Customs in the killing of suspected smugglers in Katsina State over the years.
The eleven-man committee will be chaired by Senator Francis Fadahunsi who is a former very Senior Officer of the Nigerian Customs Service and it has six weeks to complete its investigation into the alleged abuse of firearms by Customs’ officers and report back to the Senate.
These were some of the resolutions reached on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday after deliberations on a point of order raised by the Senator representing Katsina Central, Abdulaziz Yar’Adua.
The Situation at border communities with regards to how Customs officers carry out their fight against smugglers, has come up on the floor of the Senate.
Senator Yar’Adua expresses deep concern over the what he describes as the unprofessional handling of arms by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and the fact that those culpable are yet to be identified and brought to book.
A cross section of Lawmakers contributed to the motion, they insist the matter must be handled seriously and urge the government to adopt more proactive ways to stop the activities of smugglers as well as curb retaliatory attacks between officers and smugglers.
After the debate, the Senate advised the Customs service to improve on the training of its personnel in handling firearms, especially to ensure discipline and self restraint when dealing with citizens.
