African Bar Association Condemns Killing By Customs, Demand Full Probe And Trial

Chairman of Justice Sector Reform Commission, African Bar
Association, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa who made statement on Tuesday on
behalf of the Association pointed out that it was Unconstitutional
for a custom Officer to take the life of a fellow human being
whether the person is an errand boy to them or a passenger.

In the video of the shooting that trended on the social media,
the lifeless body of the deceased could be seen on the ground, with
blood around the neck areas.

Adegboruwa said: “In its official response, the Customs Service
claimed to be preventing anti-smuggling, leading to accidental
discharge. It claimed that the victim is an errand boy who served
Customs officers when they retire home.

“Whether as an errand boy or a traveler, the victim did not
deserve to die by summary execution, as has happened in this
case.

“AFBA recalls that Nigeria is a signatory to the African Charter
on Human and People’s Rights, which has been domesticated as part
of its municipal laws and recognized by the Supreme Court of
Nigeria as an enforceable legislation.

Article 4 of the African Charter provides as follows:

“Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be
entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person.
No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.”

“The shooting of Citizen Godwin by the Customs men amounts to
summary execution and it is a cause for worry, especially in a
country where the misuse of firearms by security personnel has been
on the increase.

“AFBA urges a thorough investigation of this event by the
government of Nigeria and the African Union, and if there is an
established violation of the African Charter or any other municipal
legislation by this misconduct, it should be addressed squarely and
the perpetrators brought to justice. In this regard, AFBA will
inaugurate an independent Commission of Inquiry into this incidence
where the Nigerian government fails to act decisively.

He further stated that the explanation given by the customs over
the ugly incident is still not clear going by the video trending on
social media.

“The narratives of the Customs on this unfortunate occurrence
raised too many ambiguities and posed more questions than answers,
given the graphic video recording of the event, the venue of the
incident and the sequence of occurrences.

“Human life should be precious to all security agencies bearing
arms and government owes it as a sacred responsibility to properly
train and educate all security personnel on the rules of engagement
in relation to the use of arms in non-combat situations, in order
to minimize casualties to innocent civilians.