Nigeria’s secret Police, Department of State Services (DSS), says it has launched an investigation into the shooting of a fashion designer at the Garki International Market on Thursday evening by its personnel on ‘illegal’ duty.
KOKO TV NG gathered that trouble started when a DSS officer brought by the fashion designer’s customer to threaten him for his inability to deliver his clothes shot the designer.
A tweet shared by Zagazola Makama, a security analyst and counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad area on his X (formerly Twitter) handle with a video and pictures of the incident, said the DSS officer not only shot the fashion designer but a stray bullet also hit a sales girl who was sitting in her shop.
The tweet reads, “On the evening of Sept. 7, 2023, a lady called some @OfficialDSSNG personnel to arrest her tailor who didn’t deliver her clothes. They came and not only shot him (tailor) but a stray bullet hit an innocent sales girl sitting at her shop.
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“The action of the personnel angered marketers who attempted to block them from leaving the market. The personnel quickly took to their heels while the marketers pelted their vehicle with stones.”
However, reacting to the development in a statement, DSS said it has launched an investigation into the incident, promising not to spare the personnel involved if found to be true.
In the statement issued by its spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, DSS said: “The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to an incident that occurred a few hours ago between its staff and a mob at the Garki Market, Abuja.
“Information at the disposal of the Service was that its FCT Command responded to an SOS from their field operatives who allegedly came under a mob attack in the said market.
“Consequently, the Service has commenced an investigation into the matter. The public is assured that details of the inquiries will be communicated as soon as possible.
“The Service assures that it will not hesitate to mete out a proper disciplinary measure(s) to its staff if found culpable or running foul of Standard Operating Procedures on dealing with a member of the public.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, said that it had recovered some weapons used in the attack and restored normalcy.
The Command in a statement by its spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh said, “In an incident at Garki International Market on September 7, 2023, an altercation arose between market occupants and certain individuals, including a DSS personnel and a tailor named Muhammad Habibu.
“The Garki Divisional Police station mobilized officers in response to a received distress call reporting the invasion of the market by these individuals, who fired shots at a tailor known as Mubarak Mubarak.
“This incident led to some of the local youths reacting angrily and attempting to confront the DSS personnel involved. In response, the police intervened to rescue the individuals and protect public safety.”
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She noted that during the incident, there was damage to a section of the police outpost as some of the irate youths acted in what she described as a “disorderly manner”.
“It is important to note that some weapons used in the commotion have been recovered, and normalcy has now been restored,” she said.
The command’s spokesperson added that the Commissioner of Police, FCT, Haruna Garba, “encourages market occupants to also refrain from engaging in mischief involving public property, especially that which belongs to the security agencies in place to safeguard their well-being.
“Additionally, he urges the public to utilize the police emergency lines 08061581938,07057337653, 08028940883, for assistance when needed.”
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