Samsung, Ladol differ on killing of Nigerian, Korean by NSCDC official

Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN) has declared that the killing of a Korean and a Nigerian by an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) at LADOL Free Zone was a deliberate action and not accidental discharge as claimed by the managers of the free zone.

This is coming after the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) claimed the killing was ‘in error’, after the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Mohammed Abdullahi Gana, told newsmen one of its officers opened fire ‘in error’ at LADOL.

The Managing Director, Samsung Heavy Nigeria, Mr. Jejin Jeon, said the attack was deliberate and has thrown fear into the minds of the workers at the fabrication yard. He called on the authorities to do thorough investigations and come out with a fair and undistorted report.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos on the shooting, Jeon said the LADOL guard fired deliberately at his NSCDC colleague, killing him with three shots at the scene, before moving away to a different location where he also deliberately shot the Korean employee that had been working in a crawler crane within the SHI-MCI yard.

Jeon who also showed journalists video evidence of the incident to back his claim, stated that the statement by the NSCDC Commandant General that the guard opened fire “in error” was also false, insisting that the shooting was a deliberate and unprovoked attack.

But Ladol, in a statement, said: “We are saddened by the incident which occurred on April 9 at the LADOL Free Zone resulting in two fatalities.”

The statement made available by its Public Relations Officer, Olakunle Kalejaiye, said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the NSCDC officer, who tragically lost his life as well as the Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (Samsung) staff member who was injured on the scene. The Samsung staff member was initially in stable condition in hospital and arrangements were being made to return him to South Korea. Sadly, he has now also passed away. We are providing every support we can to those impacted and their families.

“The incident was contained entirely within the fabrication and integration shipyard in LADOL, where Samsung staff are currently working on the final stages of the Egina FPSO development project. We commend the NSCDC team in LADOL, particularly their commander at the scene who swiftly brought the situation under control. We note that this is an isolated incident, which should not be interpreted to portray NSCDC in a poor light. We also commend and thank the LADOL security team who acted professionally and calmly to ensure the situation was resolved quickly.

“LADOL continues to work closely with the NSCDC, Nigerian Exports Processing Zones Authority and the police as they undertake their investigation into this tragic incident and we will provide further updates when appropriate,” it stated.

The Samsung boss said the gunman was arrested outside the premises by security officers. “LADOL falsely state that they were providing ‘every support we can to those impacted and their families.’ LADOL have provided no support to the Korean employee, or to his family or to SHI-MCI since the incident. They made no communication to the employee or his family whatsoever, either privately or publicly, and have offered no other support as of now. To this date, there is no public apology to the Korean expatriate that lost his life.

“We demand that the law enforcement agencies conduct a full investigation into this murder incident. We demand answers from LADOL as to how this employee was screened, and what protection is offered to workers within the LADOL Free Zone who are now extremely concerned for their safety and welfare,” he stated.