Pelican Valley settles with Customs over shooting incident

The Chief Executive Officer of Pelican Valley Nigeria, Babatunde Adeyemo, has said he has forgiven the trigger-happy operative of the Nigeria Customs Service who recently shot at his vehicle.

Adeyemo, who is also the founder of the Okó Opó Foundation, made this known in Abeokuta shortly after a meeting with senior officials of NCS over the shooting incident.

He said, “I asked the erring operative to go and sin no more, even as he also pleaded with the NCS and its leadership to give the officer a second chance and not relieve him of his job over the professional misconduct.”

Adeyemo had reportedly escaped death along the Ibara-Orile area of Ogun State on December 8, 2024, when a Customs operative shot at his vehicle while returning from the grand finale of the Ibese Asakanran Day festival.

The businessman subsequently protested the near-fatal shooting incident, threatened legal action against the NCS, and demanded N50m in compensation.

However, speaking after the conciliatory meeting in Pelican Valley Estate, Laderin, Abeokuta, Adeyemo informed that he had resolved not to demand compensation anymore and leave the matter to God, who saved him from sudden death.

“In a country where many youths are either into Yahoo or planning Japa, we need to continue to encourage those who are willing to work legitimately. Hence, we don’t have to throw away the baby with the bathwater. Blessing, I believe, had learnt his lessons. He should go and sin no more,” the Pelican boss said.

Adeyemo said he chose to overlook the matter afterward out of sheer pity for the young erring operative.

In his remarks, an Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Olabode Akinola, clarified that NCS does not condone any form of indiscipline or misconduct.

He said, “Any officer found culpable of wrongdoing receives appropriate sanction, including dismissal and possible prosecution, depending on the gravity of the matter and level of such officer.”

At the end of the engagement, the NCS officials pledged the readiness of the law enforcement agency to support the Okó Opó Foundation in its quest to uplift the widows, children, and less privileged members of the society.