Suspicion has continued to trail the failure of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Katsina Area Command to parade and handover to the Police its personnel who allegedly attacked Alh. Jabiru Tsauri, the Chief of Staff, CoS, to the Katsina State Governor.

It would be recalled that several newspapers and online platforms reported on Thursday, July 13, 2023, how some personnel of the NCS in the State opened fire on the vehicle of the Katsina Governor CoS, along Gorar Yammama Highway, on his way to Abuja via Kaduna.

Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, the Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to the Katsina Governor, in a statement, noted that the Customs officers targeted Alh. Tsauri as he was departing Katsina State on his way to Kaduna and ultimately Abuja, at a location known as Gorar Yammama.

“According to Mr. Tsauri, while en route to Kaduna, he and his driver encountered a recent accident near the Gorar Yammama highway area, leading to significant traffic congestion.

“Once their car was finally able to move away from the accident site, the assailants, armed with firearms, targeted their vehicle, firing shots at the tires and body of the car in an attempt to harm Mr. Tsauri.

“However, thanks to the quick thinking and courageous actions of his driver, they managed to speed away to safety in a nearby town,” part of the statement by Kaula Mohammed reads.

In the wake of the incident, the Katsina NCS’ Command, in a statement by its spokesperson Tahir Balarabe, said an investigation had already been launched to unravel the immediate and remote course of the incident.

He also assured that any of its personnel found wanting will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

But 12 days after the incident, it was reliably gathered from credible sources involved in the investigation, that the Katsina Customs Command are shielding the culprits from prosecution.

“As it is now, the Customs are not willing to release their personnel who attempted to ‘murder’ Governor Dikko Radda’s Chief of Staff, almost two weeks ago. We also gathered that two civilians were among the Customs officers’ team who attacked Alh. Tsauri. But they are also being shielded by the Katsina Customs Controller,” one of the sources revealed pleading for anonymity.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the attack on the Katsina State Governor’s Chief of Staff was one of reasons why the Acting Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, penultimate Monday disbanded all its CGC’s Strike Force Teams, across the country.

The Senate, last Tuesday, also condemned the indiscriminate shootings by personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service, in Katsina State.

It similarly charged the Service to investigate the incident that led its operatives to open fire on unarmed citizens and fish out the airing officers.

Similarly, the Senate urged the NCS to improve on the training of its personnel in handling firearms.

The three prayers were adopted by the Senate on Wednesday following a motion filed by Senator Abdul’Aziz Musa Yar’adua representing Katsina Central on the urgent need to investigate the abuse of fire arms by officers of the NCS in Katsina State.