A former Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko Inde, has died at the age 61.
A strong source close to the deceased confirmed to the BBC that he had died in Abuja after a long illness,OBSERVERS TIMES report learnt.
Mr Dikko was born on 11 May 1960 in Musawa town, a local government area of Katsina State.
He attended Government College, Kaduna in 1974 where he obtained the West African Senior School Certificate Examination in 1980.
He later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a Master of Science degree in finance from the University of Dimitrov Apostle Tshenov, Svishtov, Bulgaria.
He joined the Nigerian Customs Service in 1988 and became the CG from 2009 to 2015.
He has served in various customs commands including Seme Border, Tincan Island Port, Apapa, Imo Command, Kaduna, Badagry Area Command, Investigation and Inspection Headquarters, Abuja Badagry Area Command before he was appointed as Controller-General of Nigerian Customs Service on 26 August 2009.
His tenure as the comptroller General of Customs has been described as exemplary, as he had played a significant role in the transformation of the NCS.