An unidentified Customs officer attached to the Fingila checkpoint in Dandi Local Government Area of Kebbi State was reportedly shot dead by suspected gunmen on Monday.
According to a local resident of Fingila village, identified as Malam Abdulrasheed, the attackers had earlier stormed nearby farms, and harassed farmers.
“They entered the farms and asked the farmers to taste the food they brought from home. After forcing them to take a bite, the gunmen ate the remaining food and told the farmers to leave, saying there would be no farming today,” Abdulrasheed recounted.
He explained that the assailants, numbering about seven and riding motorcycles while carrying heavy weapons, later moved to the main road, where they encountered the Customs officer sitting near a mosque and opened fire on him.
“Although the first shot missed, the second hit him as he attempted to flee into a nearby maize field. A third shot fatally struck him inside the field,” he said.
Two other officers, who were not in the open during the attack, managed to escape by crawling through the maize field, although they reportedly sustained minor injuries.
The deceased officer, according to locals, was from Maiduguri in Borno State and was known to regularly sit near the mosque.
