Gbajabiamila: Security Aide Who Shot Vendor Handed over to DSS

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Friday said he had handed over the security operative, Abdullahi M. Hassan, who shot a newspaper vendor, Ifeanyi Okereke to the Department of State Security (DSS) for investigation and appropriate administrative and judicial action.

Ifeanyi died at the National Hospital Abuja on Thursday after he was shot in the head by one of Gbajabiamila’s security details, around the National Secretariat, after he and other street vendors selling on the road, approached the convoy of the speaker, who was passing on the fateful day to ask for money.

Gbajabiamila, in a statement, giving update on the horrific event, also said he had arranged to meet with the late vendor’s family.

The statement reads, ”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. I expect, and I will see to it that the family of Mr Ifeanyi Okereke receives the full measure of justice so that their bereavement is not compounded by any actions that can cause them further pain and suffering.

”I have expressed my personal condolence to his family and have arranged to meet with them when the parents of Mr Okereke, who are already on their way, arrive in Abuja. Additionally, I have committed to them that I will support his wife and the immediate family he has left behind.”