Man Accidentally Shot By DSS Operative Gets ₦20 Million Compensation

A Sokoto businessman who was inadvertently shot during a security operation has received ₦20 million compensation from the Department of State Services (DSS).

To further its commitment to providing complimentary medical services, the secret police also invited the victim to visit its hospital in Abuja.

Naija News understands that in mid-March, the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Ajayi, sanctioned the disbursement of ₦10 million in damages that had been awarded by a court to the businessman six years prior.

To account for the time lost, the DSS DG presented the businessman with an additional ₦10 million, resulting in a cumulative total of ₦20 million.

At that time, Ajayi instructed the DSS hospital to formally incorporate the businessman into the medical care system of the Services, thereby allowing him to access free medical services whenever he wished.

According to Vanguard, a source from the security sector reported that the businessman arrived at the hospital “a few days ago and has been receiving complimentary medical tests and treatment from the hospital’s top physicians.”

He said, “True to the DG’s directive, the man has been in the VIP ward which, of course, is fully air-conditioned.

“They have been running series of checks and giving him round-the-clock medical attention, in order to make him regain full control of his limbs. I even understand the DG asked that he be fed for free.”

Naija News reports that in 2016, during a pre-dawn operation aimed at apprehending a suspected gunrunner in Jos, Plateau State, operatives of the DSS inadvertently shot and injured a businessman who coincidentally shares the same name as the suspected gunrunner.

The gunrunner was ultimately apprehended.

Two years following the incident, in 2018, the businessman, represented by his attorney, Idris Akibu, filed a case in a Federal High Court located in Bauchi.

In delivering the judgment regarding the case with suit number FHC/J/CS/18/2018, the court, under the leadership of Justice Muhammed Shittu Abubakar, mandated the DSS to compensate the injured businessman with ₦10 million in damages.

“This is the third DG since this unfortunate case of mistaken identity happened. We were very happy when our new DG directed that we pay the money.

“He even added another ₦10 million to the victim’s money. It goes to show that, not only can security agencies be law abiding, we can also be full of the milk of human kindness,” the source declared.