“Everyone is talking
about crime. Tell me, who are the criminals?” So sang, more than forty years
ago, the Jamaican artiste Peter Torsh in his album “Equal rights”. Today, that
question has become extraordinarily pertinent in our beloved country Nigeria . Here
in Nigeria ,
we talk of crimes: armed robbery, kidnapping, and now, murder by
herdsmen. But who and where are the criminals? Are we
pretending not to know them? And are we pretending not to know where
they are? But our God of JUSTICE looks on!
Nigerians are familiar with the drama of parade of suspects. On
prime time television, the police treats us to it. Some men and women are
apprehended by the police, made to sit by dangerous weapons, and paraded as
criminals. And the story ends there. We hear of no
prosecution, no conviction, no sentencing.
Apart from the fact that
such drama amounts to media trial, pronouncing them guilty even before they are
arraigned as prescribed by law, we never get to know if indeed they are the
criminals. What has happened to the many suspects paraded in the
media by the Nigeria Police? And what has happened to the dangerous
weapons supposedly seized from them? Our government and its security
agencies, if indeed they are responsible and accountable, owe Nigerians some
credible explanations.*Cardinal Okogie |
The recent terrorist acts of herdsmen and the way the federal government has reacted—its spokespersons and the security agencies—bear a disturbing resemblance to the issue of dramatized parade of suspects. The laws of this country were broken by those who butchered citizens of
Some government
officials blamed it on the fact that the herdsmen were not treated as Nigerian
brothers. We were told the herdsmen acted in such unparalleled
barbarism because they were not accommodated by their fellow
Nigerians. We were treated to the tale that the herdsmen committed
such heinous crimes because of a law made by a state government. We
were told, by the Inspector General of Police, that the killings were
consequences of communal clashes. In other words, clashes among
communities of Nigerians. The Minister of Defence, for his part, even went as
far as painting the picture of murderous herdsmen as Nigerians denied access to
grazing route by farmers. Then, in grotesque contradiction, the
Directorate of State Security said perpetrators of this crime were not Nigerian
herdsmen but members of the Islamic State in West
Africa .
Officials
of the Federal Government cannot, on the one hand, say these butchers are
Nigerians in need of accommodation by fellow Nigerians, and, on the other hand,
turn around and say they are foreigners. The two explanations amount
to a simple fault of logic. No public office holder who offers such
explanations deserves to spend one more minute in office. He should
either tender his resignation or be fired. He cannot be counted upon
to secure the people.
But apart from the fact that such utterances insult the intelligence of Nigerians, they beg the issue. The issue is neither the nationality nor the ethnic affiliation nor the religious identity of the herdsmen. The issue is the crime they committed. InNigeria ,
the crime of murder is punishable by law. Our government cannot
pretend not to know who the criminals are. The issue is: where are
the criminals? Why have leaders of Miyetti Allah not been called in
for interrogation?
But apart from the fact that such utterances insult the intelligence of Nigerians, they beg the issue. The issue is neither the nationality nor the ethnic affiliation nor the religious identity of the herdsmen. The issue is the crime they committed. In
Since
security is de facto in the hands of the federal government, these are
questions the government has a non-negotiable moral obligation to answer.
Setting up a committee to prevent a reoccurrence is a good idea. But
that does not justify the fact that these murderers are still walking and
talking freely. It is cruel and cynical to subject security matters to the
manipulation of our religious and ethnic differences. It is utterly
unbecoming of statesmen to prioritize political calculations over the value of
life and property. Every Nigerian citizen is special. The
rights that belong to us by virtue of being human beings and citizens are to be
protected at all times.
It
is no longer news that our country has become a bye-word in the comity of
nations. The international community looks with wonder at a country
so tall on promise but short on delivery. The way our
government mishandles matters of security gives the rest of the world the
impression that we cannot govern ourselves. Little wonder derogatory
words are used to describe us. But we can, and we must change the
negative perception by doing things the right way. At this point in
time, the matter of security must be rightly addressed without sweeping any
item under the carpet. It is by far more important than getting elected or
re-elected in 2019.
Since
the federal government controls the security agencies, we Nigerians must insist
that this government furnish us with credible answers to these and related
questions: who and where are the criminals? Where are the people who
kill Nigerians? Why have they not appeared in court? What
is the Federal Government and its security agencies waiting for?
*Cardinal Okogie is
Archbishop emeritus of the Lagos
Catholic Archdiocese
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