Nigeria Police Watch Calls for Thorough Training of Nigeria Police Officers following the accidental death of a Custom Officer in Lagos due to Police carelessness.
Port operations at the Tin-can Island Container Terminal (TICT) was, on Thursday 15 Aug. 2013, halted for several hours after the incident.
The deceased Customs officer was assigned from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, to escort containers from the port.
The police officer, identified as Sergeant Peter Adegbesan, was said to have left his service riffle uncorked when it fell from his hand and started firing.
Adegbesan was said to have attempted to control the riffle. As he lifted it, the Customs officer, Assistant Inspector O. A. Oro was hit severally by bullets from the gun.
He was said to have died before he could be rushed to the hospital.
In reaction, the clearing agents who were at the scene of the incident descended on the police officer, but for the intervention of some dock workers, the killer cop would have been beaten to death.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of Tin-Can Island Command of the NCS, Chris Osunkwo, described the incident as unfortunate, saying the officer has been placed under protective custody at the Apapa Port police command.
Carelessness of Nigeria Police Officers have led to several disasters in the history of the force; Nigerians are conversant with the phrase “accidental discharge”- used by police officers to describe such incidents, leaving many to question the kind of training officers receive. The Nigeria Police Watch therefore call on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to ensure thorough (re)-training of Police Officers serving Nigerians.