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Due Process For The Wealthy Swift Justice For The Talikawa By Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa
Nigeria is on its sick bed hemorrhaging to death. Oh my dear Country, we are looking for saviors of this giant of Africa. It must not die. Those who bleed Nigeria must not go scout free either, they must be punished. Justice delayed is justice denied. Once more, we must heed the calling of our grand mothers and fathers to rescue the Country from the hands of quacks by its sick bed.
In case you are wondering whose cries are these, it is those of the forgotten talikawa of Nigeria who are languishing in our jails for petty crimes while the big fish get away because they have who can fight for them. Every time the wealthy visits, are detained for 48 hours or more, they come out promising to work hard in order to reform our prison system. As soon as they stepped out of jail, bailed out by Oba, Obi and Emir, they forgot the inhuman treatment there.
We have heard that prison is like a hotel for some of these wealthy men. There are rooms and self contained flats for rent from the head of that prison; and families can supply anything to these wealthy inmates if they go through the right channels. As for the majority of the inmates who are needy, it is another hell in a Country some consider hell already.
So is life, my brother. The rich and their educated hires make life easier on themselves. In Nigeria, they get all the government handouts like lands, houses, cars and free tickets to go anywhere in the world including hospitals. The tax code favors them; structure of government and salary favor them, and the legal system nko? It favors them. If you have not heard about due process, please come to Nigeria.
Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about those murderers that stay on death role for ever in your Country. No. It is not about rich lawyers and law students fighting and reviewing cold cases of poor people with the DNA test to make sure they actually identify who committed the crime. Not that. Those lawyers in your Country are not perfect either. I have heard about those in Legal Aids who may pressure poor people to plea bargain even when they do not commit the crime o.
We have big lawyers in Nigeria too. Some of them have been appointed to World Court, and other world bodies. They are learned gentlemen and women of the highest integrity, but not all. Many of them work hand in hand with politicians as they did in United States that made baby Bush the President leaving Gore out in the cold with majority votes.
You see, in Nigeria we have courts and we have courts. Let me explain. There are courts for the wealthy and there are courts for the poor. The poor people go to customary and sharia courts. The wealthy go to State and Federal courts. There is a difference. Let me finish!
If you love yourself, do not steal small, little, tiny money otherwise you will land yourself in sharia or customary courts. My cousin told me once that if I ever heard that he stole anything less than a million, I could swear that it can not be him. He paused, and took a gulp from a gourd of palm wine. I was impressed until he continued. If I ever heard that he stole many millions, I should not vouch for him but get him a good lawyer. It is the beginning of due process. He lectured me that a man with that type of money must not be thrown into jail until he exhausts his god given rights under the constitution otherwise the Country will go to the dogs. There is no civilized country in the world where a wealthy man is thrown into jail like a talikawa without exhausting his legal rights. Money is the same as free speech. That is why he has to make sure that before he steals, he has to take his legal fees into consideration. You got it?
There was a time in Nigeria when we used to have Bar Beach Show for those who steal with guns. No more. It was barbaric. Even then, only fools will steal with guns when you can steal much more with a pen. As long as you can avoid stealing with a gun and make sure you steal enough, you can avoid the small courts I mentioned earlier. Actually, you can loose a hand, a foot or get whipping in one of those small courts for little people.
My only surprise is that none of the Governors have been tried in sharia or customary courts. Since some of them fight for the establishment of these courts in their states, one may wonder if they have lost confidence in them. It could have been a means to placate the poor to win votes. It was never meant to apply to them and their cronies. Otherwise we would have some governors who have lost immunity running around the Country with stumps indicating that they stole.
While another Governor traveled in and out of the Country after he was released, his people welcomed him back with open arms. He even missed a court (tribunal) date calling in sick as if he was working in an office. The honorable judge, who they thought would not know because the court’s head is buried in the sand, demanded an explanation.
Well, these things do not happen in Nigeria alone. The politicians in Kenya just watered down their own anti corruption body mandate by limiting the number of years they can look into crime letting the big looters off the hook; while Russia appointed the head of anti corruption body, Viktor Zubkov, as the new Prime Minister.
In Nigeria we do things differently. If we know you have wrestled with EFCC in the past, fighting to liberate the rogue governors from the jaws of EFCC/ICPC, we will appoint you as Attorney General of the federation to create a balance!
So in Nigeria we have all these talikawa languishing in jail because they can not pay a poultry fine, in most cases they have spent more time in jail than if they were convicted of their crime. We have so many police who have nothing to do than chase women in the most cosmopolitan city in the Country for the type of dress they wear. You will never see the same police until the robbers who had ransacked a whole neighborhood have left. Do the robbers inform them that they are done and they could move in?
The greatest empathy is for those talikawa that were collected at the Bus stops thinking they got into legitimate transport only to find themselves at the police station, locked up. They have to pay everything on their body before they are released or get someone to bail them out. What is our dear Attorney General who is so obsessed with due process doing about all these cases? |