Nigeria Police And The Extra Judicial Killings

By

Babandi Gumel

bagumel@btinternet.com

The awful video footage shown by the Aljazeera Television of the Nigeria Police and Army Units carrying out extra judicial killing in the aftermath clashes with the Boko Haram members call to question the role played by the security forces in the last years  Muslim uprising. In the footage a number of unarmed civilians were seen forced to lie down on the street and then shot at a cruel point blank range that were never seen anywhere . More awful shocking pictures that came from the footage like fairy tale one of the officers was heard urging his colleague not to shoot the unarmed civilian on the head but rather on the chest as he wanted his hat. The elements of the army and police who staged the follow-up operation after the last years July Boko Haram Uprising in which estimated 1000 Nigerians were killed selecting individual at random after house to house search and taken to the police station shocked the world. The unfortunate footage broadcast and widely circulated on the internet clearly showed unarmed men hurled and forcefully told to lie down on the street and shot on the head. As the execution continued one man was told “Sit properly we want take your picture” the kind of so called jungle justice  emanating from the most populous Nation in Africa carried by security officers who are meant to protect their citizens. In contrast a Metropolitan Police Officer here in London was convicted and sentenced to four years in prisonment for trying to frame a web designer amounting to corruption and perverting the course of justice. Ali Dizaei who was branded criminal in uniform seen trying to frame an innocent man in 2008 was stripped of his £90,000 salary when he was found guilty of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course justice after a four week trial at a Southwark Crown Court. Ali  Dizaei the most Senior ethnic minority Police Officer in London remained defiant describing the conviction as outrageous and a fit up accusing the authorities as having vendetta against him. Well at least the rule of law prevails here unlike the extra judicial killing shown on the TV and relayed all over and yet the culprits were neither brought to trial nor hoped for justice for the innocent unarmed civilians killed in self styled cowboy vendetta killings despite the plea of showing mercy by thousands of people outside the police station.  After the execution and army officer who appears to be in charge of the operation was shown handing over the command to a Senior police officer who were clearly identified with the tags on their chest. Another innocent person believed to have been killed in the random self styled execution was the Late  Malam Baba Fugu a respected Community leader  who was reported to have gone to the police help them restore order  but was subsequently killed  without being tried by a court of law. Although the Government promised to set an inquiry into the unnecessary killing during the uprising which saw the death of an estimated one thousand people described as c rime against the humanity yet nothing concrete has been done to bring to book the culprits who perpetrated these evil crime. According to Aljazeera such extra judicial killings in Nigeria were wide spread letting the Nigeria police get away with murder killing hundreds of people every year without the necessary investigation. Seven Months have passed since the Boko Haram Uprising who were only demonstrating against the Western Education who could have been dealt with rather  than killing most of them nothing has been heard from the Government as to whether the culprits were brought to book or not. During the operation the Army captured among others the leader of the group and handed him to the police alive which was shown on television. The Leader of the Uprising Yusuf Mohammed was clearly shown handcuffed and surrounded by heavily armed police officers being questioned and later when his body was discovered by the press in a clear cover up he was said to have been killed while trying to escape notion contested by everyone . The New York Human Right Group described Yusuf death as an extra judicial killing an example of brazen contempt of the Nigerian police for the rule of law a contrast with Ali Dizae who only tried to frame an innocent person causing his four year jail term to be upheld thus opening our eyes to the real rule of law in contrast with the Nigeria police justice system which is so unfortunate.

Wa Akhiri Daawana Anil Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen.