Vehicle chasing rice smugglers kills 7 people in Katsina

A vehicle belonging to the Nigeria Customs Service crushed 7 people to death while chasing rice smugglers in Jibiya LGA of Katsina State on Monday.

Reports say the vehicle, which rammed into a group of people by the roadside, had several others injured who are currently being attended to in a local hospital in the area.

Angry mob in the area resorted to violent protest and eventually battered the customs’ official vehicle before the arrival of security agencies.

“They were chasing a J5 vehicle suspected to have smuggled rice. Their vehicle lost control and ran into a group of people standing by the roadside.
Six persons died instantly and another one died on the way to the hospital. About 20 other persons were seriously injured.

“In retaliation, an angry mob from the area burnt the custom vehicle before police could arrive at the scene,” an eyewitness said.

The spokesman of the Katsina Area Command of the Nigerian Customs Service, Danbaba Isah, while confirming the incident, said investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the accident.