Extra judicial Execution,security and the Rule of Law

“When you have eliminated
the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth.”

– Sherlock Holmes

One of the excuses which the Boko Haram militia is harping on as a reason for their violent agitation which has resulted into a total break down of Law and order in Northern Nigeria today, is the killing of their Leader Muhammed Ysusuf by policemen. The army was called in to quell an uprising initiated by the group in 2010, the groups headquarters was demolished and Yusuf was arrested and handed over to the police who claimed that he was shot while trying to escape but subsequent revelations have shown that he was killed in cold blood.

The above not with standing, I am of the view that Boko Haram by killing innocent Pple who had nothing to do with their leader’s death have also fallen into the same crime of which they accuse the police. The culture of impunity and lack of regards for the rule of law is a result of corruption which has eroded our values as a people. In Nigeria today hardly does a day go by with out news of people dying needlessly from accidents and violent crimes. We are now so use to this fact that people are no more shocked to hear of deaths unless of course the victim is close to us.

Adhering to the rule
of law, recognition of human rights,
particularly the right to life and
human dignity, free speech and
opinion, and the presumption of
innocence of an accused until
proven guilty are cardinal expections in a democratic society. This supposition can
never be eroded or mitigated even
when you catch the person in the
act(red handed),partaking in acts which are criminal. Until a court of competent
jurisdiction pronounces him guilty,
the accused will continue to enjoy
the protection offered by this rule . Herein lies the failure of our security operatives. Times without number I have heard police men tell fellow citizens that”I will kill you and nothing will happen”. In cases where they carry out the threat, nothing actually happens. In a
nation that claims to be civilised
and democratic, police and military
oppressive extortion, brutality and
extra-judicial killing are still the norm.
Sometimes, when police officers are
broke, to get money they raid a
neighbourhood and fill their
primordial cells with youths who
have done nothing wrong except
being Nigerians.
Last week, at the behest of a rich
bidder, Universal Energy Resources
Ltd, our notorious Nigerian Police
brutalised over 100 youths in Mbo,
Akwa Ibom State , who were
exercising their inalienable right to
protest. As I write, five youth
leaders, who were arrested, are still
languishing in incarceration at the
Mbo Divisional Police Headquarters
in Enwang. In fact, one them
received gunshot injuries and he is
been treated at a private clinic in
Oron. In a sane country, how could
police shoot protesters, who are
unarmed, with live ammunition?
Also last Thursday, two soldiers shot
to death a citizen in Eleme
community in Rivers State. Report
has it that one shot him in the leg
and as he fell, the other soldier
walked up to him and shot him in
the head. They then entered their
vehicle and sped away leaving their
victim cold. The alleged murderers
of the young man were said to be
guarding the property of a former
member of the House of
Representatives in the community.
Villagers said they could not tell the
offence of the deceased.
More troubling was the news that a
suspect in the Independence Day
bombings in Abuja, Tiemkenfa
Francis Osvwo, aka ‘General
Gbokos,’ died in Kuje Prison.
Meanwhile, the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta
MEND are crying foul, alleging extra-
judicial killing. According to MEND,
they started sensing danger when
“the cells of the four accused
persons (including that of the
deceased) were fumigated on
January 8, 2012 with a strange
substance which affected their
health, about which the solicitors
raised alarm at the time.” All the atrocities mentioned above occurred within d last 2 months. Instances abound where policemen kill okada riders because of N20. (haba) so in Nigeria the life of a citizen is worth N20.
Its a known fact that you can report someone to the police and if he has more money than you, then there is a likelihood that you will end up in a cell.

Violence begets violence. So when law officers kill at will then we can comfortably say that we live in a
state which murders its own
citizens. This perception is what 90% of Nigerians hang onto, and for it to change, the government and its operatives must begin to apply the principles of the Rule of Law. Any security agent that engages in Extra judicial killings should be prosecuted to send a clear signal that our society has no place for people who see nothing wrong in killing a fellow human being

Extracts from :the Burden of Democracy