The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has confirmed the death of one of its personnel, identified as Assistant Superintendent of Customs Lawal Tukur, who reportedly died in a hotel room in Katsina after lodging with three women.
The spokesperson for the Katsina Command, B. Musa, confirmed the development in a telephone interview with Premium Times on Thursday, though he said the service had yet to receive a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the officer’s death.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Musa said when asked about reports that the officer died in a hotel room. “All I know is that the officer died. His family informed us of his death, but they didn’t tell us where or how it happened.”
He also declined to confirm media claims that the officer’s body had been deposited at a hospital. “I don’t know about that one,” he added.
Musa, however, confirmed that the deceased had been buried according to Islamic rites. “I think it is today because we just received information that our officer died and was buried according to Islamic rites. That’s what I know,” he stated.
Pressed for more details, the spokesperson said Tukur was an indigene of Katsina State but declined to provide further information, citing ongoing internal documentation. “We are still putting the records together. Please, I don’t have time for more questions now,” he said before ending the call.
Meanwhile, security analyst Zagazola Makama had earlier identified the deceased as Assistant Superintendent of Customs (ASC) Lawal Tukur.
According to Makama’s report, the officer was found lifeless on Wednesday morning at Murjani Hotel in Katsina metropolis. Hotel staff reportedly discovered his body at around 8:30 a.m. with “empty sachets of suspected substances” found in the waste bin.
The report further alleged that three women — identified as Khadija Ali (34), Aisha Lawal (30), and Hafsat Yusuf (22) — were linked to the incident. Two of them were said to have spent the night with the officer, while the third reportedly joined later.
Tukur’s body was taken to Federal Medical Centre Katsina, where he was confirmed dead and deposited for autopsy.
As of press time, neither the police nor the NCS had issued an official statement on the possible cause of death, but investigations are ongoing.
