The People of Jibiya Local Government Area of Katsina State have continued to recount their ordeal, especially those who lost loved ones in the accident that involved a patrol vehicle belonging to the Nigerian Customs Service.
10 persons were killed while 20 others were injured in the accident.
Among the deceased was a 16-year-old Senior Secondary School, SSS One girl, Ummulkhair Usman, whose dream of becoming a medical doctor in the future was terminated as a result of the accident.
As a result of the incident, some people of Jibiya Local Government Area, under the name, Jibiya Peoples Forum, led by its Chairman, Gide Dahiru are demanding justice.
The Forum’s chairman, Gide Dahiru, said it is not the first time such a thing has happened in the area.
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He said, in this case, a customs patrol vehicle was chasing after a suspected rice smuggler conveying 2 bags of rice on a motorcycle, which led to the incident.
Dahiru further questioned the existence of the local government area as part of the 774 in Nigeria, saying, four other borders were opened, while Jibiya, which is among the largest is still closed.
He said most businesses in the area have folded up because even locally produced food items are not allowed into or out of Jibiya, and if it does, heavy payments are made to the different checkpoints, on the 44-kilometer road to Katsina city.
The people are asking for the immediate suspension and reopening of the Jibiya border, and the payments of full compensation to the families of the deceased, as well as treatments of the injured.
The Chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Katsina State, Abdulrahman Abdullahi, and his Nigeria Human Rights Network Coordinator, Izumi Yamada, said it is a fight to finish until justice is done.
Among the standpoints of the Coalition is that the officers involved must face the full wrath of the law, for their recklessness and unprofessionalism, to serve as a deterrent in the future.
It said the Federal Government should open the Jibiya border, to bring back to life, the economic activities of the Jibiya people, and Katsina State in general, as there is no justification whatsoever, for opening 4 other borders, and that, locally produced food items be allowed to flow in and outside Jibiya freely, without unnecessary harassment and exploitation, especially along the Jibiya-Katsina Road.
