The Nigerian "Murder" Force By Ibrahim Suleiman
The
recent turn around of events in the committee of enquiry
set up to investigate the issues at stake of the Apo
six killings came to many as a surprise but
certainly not for me. During
its first sitting, one of the police officers' who
"murdered" the six innocent citizens in cold blood changed
his testimony made earlier at Louis Edet house which
he previously alleged that the victims fired shots
at them first before the police responded which led to
the death of the six people. With such a
testimony, one can rightly conclude that the police are guilty
of murder because I personally don't know of any law
applicable in
nigeria
that allows a police officer
to 'open fire' on any person that is presumed
harmless but the question that sticks to my mind and I'm
quiet sure in many Nigerians' is How many people have
died and will continue to die in the hands of the police
without any justifiable cause? Also, how many of those
killed and tagged 'armed robbers' are truly armed robbers
as claimed by the police? The truth is that any time a
police officer kills a person, they tag him as an
armed robber even when he is not just to cover up and get
away with it. I wonder if majority of Nigerians have
now found an occupation in armed robbery. It is
obvious that the police all over the world engage
themselves in certain illegalities but
definitely not the type as in the Nigerian situation. I am
quiet sure not less than an average of 5 innocent
citizens are being killed by the police daily and nobody
seems to care about it. It only takes the courage
and sacrifice of the Apo mechanics village
residents to say NO to such an act. Had they kept mute about
the issue, those innocent and unarmed 6 civilians would
have been wasted under the guise of 'armed
robbers'.
There
are many uncountable incidences where such
'murders' occur and the cases closed without any
conviction of any police. We have in various instances heard
where such 'men of the underworld' killed because of a
meagre some of ten naira or even after mere
arguments. The police seem to be feeling too high to be challenged or
questioned on certain issues. They are definitely above the law. Oh yes.
If not, why is it that we have not heard of any serious conviction of any
personnel. Take the Zamfara case for example; the only news I heard was
that the police officer was merely sentenced to imprisonment for some
term. Is this the punishment for a 'murderer' under our laws. More so, he's
not only a murderer but also an armed robber because he shot the driver
merely because he refused to part away with a meagre amount of money. The
police in this case should have been tried of first degree murder and
robbery at the same time. There is also a similar incidence that happened
some time ago in Benue which sparked off riot in the town. What happened
to the police that perpetrated the crime? I'm sure he's still alive and
kicking. What about the case in Lagos where a police shot a woman in the
bus merely because she refused to part away with her cellular phone at a
certain checkpoint? The police will obviously tell us that they have 'no
knowledge of the incident'. We have noticed that that is their mode of
cover up these days. The smart and well dressed P. R. O's will display
their pale looking faces usually looking sad when briefing newsmen on
camera to tell us that 'they are ye to receive any report on the
incidence' and also go further to say that ' more investigations are being
carried out 'or that 'a committee will be set up to look into the matter'.
The truth is that the matter dies immediately the camera is removed from
the sight of the "honourable" P. R. O's. There is also the case that
happened in a certain village in Katsina state where a D. P. O shot and
killed an innocent young man. His offence; He is accused of stealing which
allegation has not even been proved yet. But the police D. P. O gave him
the death sentence and shot him in the head. As for those who doubt,
stealing is not a crime punishable by death no matter what you stole even
if it is whole of ASO ROCK but it is in the Nigerian Animal Farm. Anyway,
if a fellow citizen could be killed merely because he refused to give
bribe, then I rest my case. The style of the police nowadays is to
mount road blocks on a sharp cornered bend and so, if one is not
careful or does not follow the road more often, you might not sight them
until you are very much closer in which case, you might not be able to
apply instant brakes as that may lead to an accident. Just sometime
back, a friend of mine was coming back from a weekend from Kaduna on a
Sunday. This friend of mine was not used to the Kaduna-Kano road as he was
just employed by a top bank and was posted to Kano . As he immediately
turned on a sharp bend which unknown to him has been blocked by the
police, he tried applying his brakes but the police even without waiting
to see weather he is stopping or not fired shots at his vehicle and he got
hit, luckily, on his arm. He was even more luckier as he was not driving
alone because he cannot continue with the journey. The most annoying part in
that case was that after the car came to a stand sill few meters from the
police, the police started laughing when they saw that he was hit and
didn't even bother to approach the car. Had it been he was alone, he could
have died. This goes to show how inhumane and unfriendly our police are.
The big question I usually ask myself is; Do the police register their
ammunition's and bullets before going out for an operation? Is there
anybody amongst the senior officers that bothers to check on their
ammunitions and make sure they are not being used arbitrarily? Is there
present any law regulating the use of excessive force by the police? If
all the above answers are NO , which are, why are the police not given
rubber bullets or tranquilizers that may merely make someone unconscious or
incapacitated for a limited period of time since they don't know how to
handle their weapons? Anyway, if a divisional police officer can
out rightly decide to terminate the lives of innocent civilians without any
justification just because he felt so, then God Help Us. By the way
I heard the news that D. P. O Abdulsalam Othman alias' the sharp
shooter 'tagged nickname mine] has escaped from custody!
Ways!
GOD DEY.
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