Nigerian Security Forces And Lawlessness

I am yet to come to terms with the unprofessional attitudes of our soldiers in the wake of the mayhem they unleashed on innocent people of Lagos state on Friday morning at Obanikoro area, that is why it has taken long to come up with this write-up as I have tried to hear from both sides before speaking my mind.

When the arm of the law tasked with protecting the nation from internal and external aggression now turns the aggressor, then one should know that there is indeed fire on the mountain.

Different accounts have it that the men in khaki uniform took to the streets beating up innocents commuters, damaging and burning BRT buses over the alleged killing of one of their men by a BRT bus.

These are men believed to be disciplined. They are men trained to defend the nation in times of need. These are people whose salaries are paid by hardworking citizens of the country. But as the late musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti (who had an unforgetable experience with them) put it, 'them leave sorrow, tears and blood, them regular trademark'.

Spokesman of the Nigerian Army, General Olajide Olaleye, was quoted by agency reports describing those who damaged the BRT buses as 'area boys' and not Nigerian soldiers.

It should be noted that this is not the first time the Army will lie to Nigerians and this will not be the last time either. It should be recalled that immediately after the April 14th Chibok abduction, the Army came out the following day saying they had rescued almost 90 school girls who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect, a claim which later turned out to be false.

Is Olajide telling Lagosians that we can't differentiate between area boys and men in uniform? Will area boys beat up people who were trying to take images of the rampage? The Nigerian army should note that Nigerians are not 'zombies'.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola has condemned the act . He said, " it is really dissapointing that public servants and that is what soldiers are, paid with tax payer's money, will act in a manner that is being suggested because I am waiting for official report to let m know who played what role and what happened".

The lawlessness has been going on for a long time. These men in uniform (Police, Soldiers and other security agencies) think they could take the law into their hands with impunity. They subject innocent and helpless people to torture, rape and other forms on inhuman treatment.

According to a report by the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), a rights group, police kill on average 4.6 people per day according to statistics provided to Human Rights Watch in April 2004 by Tafa Balogun, then Inspector-General of Police.

We have had many cases of brutality and inhuman treatment metted out to innocent citizens of this country by security forces and most of these culprits go unpunished.  The case of the drunk mobile policeman, Tafa Muhammed,  who was caught on camera beating a helpless and harmless woman and dragging her into a pool of muddy water is still fresh in our memmories. We are still waiting for the outcome of the rape allegations against the Divisional Police Officer in Charge of Onikan Station, SP Adekunle Awe by a 31 year old cook, Idowu Akinwunmi.

These are crimes that should not be allowed to go unpunished. If these 'criminals in uniform' could do such heinous crimes and go freely, tell me why other law enforcement personnel won't follow suit?

Gradually, Nigerians are losing faith in their security forces. If these security forces cannot ensure peace, order and security of lives and propery in the country, they should please not add to the many problems the nation is currently trying to deal with. Over 200 schoolgirls were abducted and nothing could be done to bring them back safely.  Yet, these 'zombies' can turn on innocent citizens at anytime they feel like and think this is the best. They need to be checked and checked fast as we cant allow this lawlessness to continue.