Customs Officer Dies After Lodging With Three Women In Katsina Hotel

AN officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), identified as Lawal Tukur, an Assistant Superintendent of Customs (ASC), has been found dead after lodging with three women in a hotel room in Katsina State.
The incident, which occured on Wednesday, October 15, was first reported by counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, was said to have occured at the Murjani Hotel in the heart of the state capital.
It was gathered that the hotel staff discovered the officer lying lifeless in his room about 8:30 a.m. and immediately raised the alarm.
Some empty sachets of suspected substances were found in the waste basket of the room.
The three women, identified as Khadija Ali, 34, of Dutsin Amare Quarters, Katsina; Aisha Lawal, 30, of Ingawa Local Council; and Hafsat Yusuf, 22, of Brigade Quarters, Kano, were reportedly in the hotel at time of the incident.
It was learnt that Khadija and Aisha spent the night with the deceased, while Hafsat visited them later and also lodged in the same hotel.
The officer was later taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Katsina, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor and deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
The NCS in the state had been informed of the development, while further investigation were ongoing to determine the actual cause of death.
A source living around the hotel area said he saw security operatives moving in and out of the hotel on Thursday morning, but was not certain what they were doing.
Another source added that some management staff of the hotel, staff working on day the officer died and the three women were being questioned by security operatives.
Spokespersons of the state Command of NSC, Bello Isah, (ASC1), as well as the state Police Command, Abubakar Aliyu (DSP), did not immediately respond to inquiry on the incident at press time.