TheCable

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, says he has handed over Abdullahi Hassan, his security aide who killed a newspaper vendor, to the Department of State Services (DSS) for discipline.

Ifeanyi Okereke, the newspaper vendor, was shot by Hassan on Thursday evening, near the national assembly.

In a statement on Friday, Gbajabiamila said the DSS operative has been suspended from his convoy – in the interim.

“This morning, I handed over the security operative, Abdullahi M. Hassan, to the Department of State Security (DSS) for investigation and appropriate administrative and judicial action,” he said.

“In the interim, he has been suspended from the convoy.”

The speaker said there is no reason for the vendor’s life to have ended the way it did.

“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,” he said.

“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. I commiserate with the family of Mr Ifeanyi Okereke and ask all Nigerians to join me at this time to pray for the peaceful repose of his soul.”

In a series of tweets earlier, the speaker said he had stopped to exchange pleasantries with some of the newspaper vendors around the national assembly when some “unidentified” men obstructed his convoy.

The number four citizens said his aide shot into the air to disperse these men, but that he later learnt that a stray bullet hit “someone”.