A civil society group, The Vanguards of Democracy, has declared as an insult on the sensibility of Nigerians, a recent defense by the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, of a Custom Officer that allegedly murdered a citizen in cold blood.

A statement issued on Monday by the group and signed by its International Coordinator, Nze Ugo-Akpe Onwuka (Oyi II), the group “condemns in the strongest terms, the weak, grossly insensitive and unacceptable insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians crafted by one DC Joseph Attah, the Public Relations Officer of the Customs Service in the name of a defense for a murder caught on camera.

“First of all, we demand that the Public Relations Officer who wrote that defense be suspended for bringing the Customs Service image he is meant to protect to ridicule and public disdain. This is a very glaring evidence of gross incompetence and ineptness of a terrifying magnitude.

“Reading the press statement by DC Joseph Attah, one would wonder what he would have written if this cold blooded act of shooting a man in broad daylight in a gang-land style was not caught on live video. We are particularly concerned about the response from the Customs Service because this singular action can be misconstrued to be a reflection of such an organisation that should be an example of transparency and sincerity.

“We are worried that with such a poor and abysmal handling of a sensitive case as this, the Public Relations Officer who put out that repugnant and puerile statement is going to bring serious integrity issues to the Customs Service, and must be redeployed immediately before he will cause more damages to the image of the reputable organisation,” the statement said.

“We also demand that the officer who pulled the trigger be dully handed over to the law for justice to take its course. It is very important to note that we shall be left with no option than to mobilise Nigerians to occupy the headquarters of the Customs Service if by Wednesday, February 20, 2019, the Service refuses to bring out this trigger-happy officer to face the law.

“We shall ensure that this murder does not go away just like that. We demand for very meticulous and sincere investigation into the matter as a matter of urgency. We shall be waiting and consulting, believing that this would not be a case of #AnotherWastedNigerian,” the statement declared.

Update news