The Nigerian Police and "Further Investigation"

Have you read The Sun newspapers today? The headline story is quite
gruesome. Night travellers from Lagos to Abuja, about 50 in number,
waylaid by night marauders, asked to lie face down on the asphalt as
they are robbed, and then crushed to death by oncoming trucks and
heavy buses! This is the much I can take of the gory details.

But this is not the first time this has happened, nay ... my bad! This
isn't the first time this occurence has been reported. Even in this
present reportage, we are told that this kind of tragedy took place
two years ago on the Lagos-Sagamu Express Way. I still remember the
official police reaction that trailed that earlier report: "The
incident never happened. The pictures were computer-generated!"

I didn't know what to think then. And it isn't any better now! What do
I say when I am told by the very people that should protect me that
there is no cause for alarm, when alarm sirens accompanied by flashing
red danger light are blaring all around me.

I don't have the stats, but I can wager my yet-to-be added
new-national-minimum-wage salary that Nigeria has one of the highest
incident of unsolved crimes. For example, rather than solve kidnap
cases, government pays stiff ransoms even from the public purse, and
rather than assuage the agitations of sundry violent pressure groups,
they are allowed to grow out of order and then the official government
will be to pretend that everything is under control.

I am reminded of a favourite quote from a play I once saw: "Everything
is under alarm, there is no cause for control!"

One will wonder what my grouse really is. Well, it's simple. The
newspaper report says that the victims have been deposited at the
morgue and the ill-fated cup has been impounded by the police for
further investigations.

Haba! Give me a break! We already know that it is another way of
saying that, as my English Language deficient friend will say, "The
deed has been did, magana ya kari (That's the end of the matter). The
Nigerian Police should answer the following questions before they can
at least gain any form of credibility from us:

Who killed Dele Giwa, Bola Ige, Harry Marshal, just to mention a few?
Who bombed the police headquarters in Abuja? They should at least make
up their minds through forensic proof whether it was a suicide bomb or
not. And perhaps tell us who is behind boko haram! Only then can we
take them any seriously. But for impounding victim buses and corpses,
you know the drill! And Mallam GEJ can we leave tenureship to address
hunger and insecurity?

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