DSS Pays N20 Million Compensation to Businessman Shot in 2016 Raid

Six years after a court ruling, the Department of State Services (DSS) has, however, obeyed a directive to compensate a Sokoto businessman who was illegally shot by its officials. First instructed to pay N10 million, the DSS has doubled the amount to N20 million to recognize the agony suffered by the businessman for many years.

The shooting occurred early on April 2, 2016, when operatives of the DSS stormed the Jos, Plateau State residence of the businessman in search of a suspected gunrunner sharing the same surname with the businessman. But in the process, the operatives mistakenly shot the businessman in the thigh before they found out later that he was not their guy. The real suspect was arrested and driven to Abuja later on the same day.

The operatives then ferried the victim to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) after they had shot him, but he was abandoned there due to a doctors' strike and later shifted to a military hospital for medical attention.

The accident was devastating to the businessman's life. He lost his capital and prosperous fertilizer business, became indebted, and lost his residence due to his inability to pay rent. The financial load, along with his injuries, forced him and his family to relocate to Sokoto State.

In 2018, the entrepreneur had filed a rights action, which resulted in a successful judgment and an order of the court that the DSS should pay N10 million as damages. The judgment debt was, however, paid on March 15, 2024.

Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Ajayi, confirmed that the initial amount and an additional N10 million were paid as a token of goodwill to enable the businessman to begin his life again.

Describing the traumatic experience, the businessman, who was interviewed on condition of anonymity due to security reasons, described how the DSS operatives arrived at his apartment around 4:30 a.m., knocking at the doors of his neighbors and asking for an individual with his name.