J5 Driver kills a boy, as Custom personals pursue

Regrettably, on Saturday, a tragic incident unfolded in Jibia town, involving a J5 driver, resulting to the untimely demise of young Mushin Ibrahim, a 14-year-old boy.

Eyewitnesses informed PREMIUM TIMES that the unfortunate event occurred at approximately 11 a.m.

A J5 Peugeot bus, which was being pursued by officials from the Federal Operating Unit, Zone B of the Nigeria Customs Service, collided with innocent bystanders.

The ill-fated accident took place in close proximity to Tudun Wada Primary School, specifically at Tashar Huraira within the town.

“We were sitting in front of Mai Masara filling station when the accident occurred.

The J5 Driver was at high speed trying to run away from the customs officials when he lost control of the steering wheel and ran into a crowd but only the boy got crushed,” an eyewitness told PREMIUM TIMES.

“We were lucky too. Other people were lucky to escape.”- witness

The gentleman stated that, subsequent to the unfortunate incident, the customs van proceeded to reverse its direction and returned to their designated checkpoint.

Jibia is a town situated on the Nigerian border with Niger Republic.

Is home to a significant number of individuals who actively participate in cross-border trading activities.

The border between Nigeria and Niger Republic has been closed since the military coup against President Mohamed Bazoum in July.

However, it has come to our attention that despite this closure, smugglers persist in their efforts to transport goods, including contraband, into Nigeria via unofficial routes.

“I was on the farm around 11 a.m. when my nephew rushed to inform me of the incident,”

Ibrahim Musa, the dead boy’s father told PREMIUM TIMES on the phone.

“When I reached the scene, he was already dead. His body was severely damaged by the vehicle.”

Mr. Musa, a peasant farmer, reported that the corpse was taken by onlookers and other family members to the Divisional Police Office in Jibia.

From there, they were referred to the hospital, where it was confirmed that the boy had passed away.

The DPO asked us to make a statement and handed the dead body to us. He asked us to go and bury it since they had already taken our statement.

“I want the government to do justice to us, the Customs officials caused this because they were chasing a vehicle in a populated place like Jibia.” Father

It is imperative that appropriate sanctions be implemented in order to effectively serve as a deterrent.

According to Gide Dahiru, the Chairman of the Jibia Peoples Forum, the driver of the J5 vehicle has informed us that the soybeans in his possession were sourced from Batsari, rather than the Niger Republic.

“The situation in Jibia is becoming confusing because we don’t know what the customs officials are supposed to stop.

Even if you bring in goods from Katsina or Kano, they stop and ask you for a bribe. If you refuse to give them they will seize the goods and say it’s contrabands,” Gide

“Smugglers are unhappy with our resolve to ensure that illicit items do not find their way into the country” but the service would continue to enforce the directives of the federal government despite efforts to smear its name”. Mr Sulaiman said

“We are a Service of repute and we sympathise with the families of the victims and an investigation is ongoing to unravel the cause of the incident in collaboration with relevant agencies. Whoever is found guilty will face the consequences of his actions,” he added.