An officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has allegedly killed a resident of Idigbo, a community in the Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The victim identified as Jacob Bamgbola was conveying his sister’s daughter on a motorcycle to a destination in the community when some immigration officers manning a checkpoint on the expressway stopped him along the Ijowun end of the Idiroko Expressway and demanded N200 before allowing him to continue his journey.
It was gathered that Bamgbola refused to accede to the officers’ request, noting that he did nothing wrong to warrant him being allegedly extorted of N200.
The situation led to an argument ,while some of the officers were busy interrogating other motorists, Benjamin took advantage of the fact that much attention was not on him and zoomed off.
On getting to his sister’s place, Bamgbola dropped his niece and proceeded to inform some youths in the community about his encounter with the immigration officers.
A source in the community told our correspondent that the youths, some of whom had also experienced similar encounters bordering on alleged extortion by immigration officers on the road, mobilised other youths to the house of a chief in the community, Moses Faleye, to protest about the development.
The source said during the protest, the immigration officers stormed the premises and while trying to disperse the protesters, allegedly shot Bamgbola dead.
He said, “Bamgbola went to carry his sister’s daughter and on his way back, he met immigration officers on the road. Those officers are always there at the checkpoint. They stopped him and wanted to collect N200 from him but he refused.
“He told them that he is a son of Otun village and why should he pay them anything. After he left, he complained to some youths and the youths mobilised themselves to the Baale’s house to register their grievances over the activities of the officers.
“But within some minutes, the immigration officers came in a van and while the Baale was trying to calm the situation, they started shooting and in the process, one of them known as Lamba shot Bamgbola. The youths were rushing Bamgbola to the hospital when he died.”
