The Department of State Services (DSS) has confirmed the fatal shooting of a newspaper vendor in Abuja, Ifeanyi Okereke.
Recall that the DSS operative attached to the House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, shot Okereke on Thursday, at the Three Arms Zone when the convoy of the Speaker was passing.
Reacting in a statement on Friday night, Peter Afunanya, DSS Public Relations Officer, confirmed that the operative is one of its personnel deployed to the Speaker as a security detail.
Afunanya stated that as part of disciplinary procedures the officer has been suspended and taken into detention.
According to the DSS spokesperson, the security outfit has opened a detailed investigation into the matter and assured of a transparent and accountable probe.
“The Service condoles with the family of the deceased and his loved ones. It has promised a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident and will surely keep to this”, the statement read.
Bibian Anekwe News reports that Gbajabiamila had revealed the officer that shot Ifeanyi Okereke as Abdullahi Hassan.
Gbajabiamila in a personally signed statement on Friday said, “The unfortunate death of Mr Ifeanyi Okereke at the hands of one of my security aides has left me deeply shaken.
“Mr Okereke was a citizen going about his business, trying to make a living for himself and his family. There is no reason for his life to have ended the way it did.
“This morning, I have handed over the security operative, Abdullahi M. Hassan, to the Department of State Security (DSS) for investigation and appropriate administrative and judicial action. In the interim, he has been suspended from the convoy.”
