The capacity of thieves to inflict the most painful damage has never been in doubt. The concern lies in the uncertainty of our resolve to end the pains, anguish and sorrow the criminals regularly visit on innocent, law-abiding citizens and their families.
Even if the citizens, who bear the brunt are determined to end their suffering, our representatives in government do not seem to understand the urgency and magnitude of the problem.
Four reported recent incidents, which occurred within a week, offer a glimpse into what happens daily in our neighbourhoods and underscore the need to seek for solutions beyond the existing modes of securing lives and property of the citizens.
Some suspected robbers had stormed Itelorun Close, Haco bus stop, Adeniyi Jones area of Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, April 4, about 2a.m., in a bid to rob the residents of their valuables. A businessman, Musibau Abudu, who stepped out of his apartment at that unfortunate moment, was shot in the head. He died at nearby Lagoon Hospital where neighbours rushed him.
In the early hours of Sunday, April 7, a 200-level student of the Usmanu Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Habibu Abubakar Nakasari, had his two hands chopped off by some men, who dispossessed him of his motorcycle in Manna, Sokoto South Local Government Area.
While Abubakar lost his hands, Dr. Stephen Urueye was most unlucky. The thieves who attacked him in company with his fiancée, inflicted multiple knife wounds, resulting in his death on Thursday, April 4, less than 48 hours after his graduation, as medical doctor from the University of Lagos. He was the only son of a widowed mother.
It is most shocking and unfortunate that the young medical doctor was attacked near the main gate of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where he had his training and had been engaged as a house officer.
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On Monday, April 8, six persons, including a police inspector; the Vice Principal of the Ido Ani Grammar School, Mr. David Oluloro; and employees of the bank of a first generation bank, lost their lives when armed robbers attacked the bank’s branch in Ido Ani, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The robbers reportedly gained entry into the bank about 2.30p.m., blowing off the door with an explosive device. Commercial activities in the town were paralysed for several hours, as residents ran for cover.
Like Abudu, Abubakar, Urueye, Oluloro and other victims of the Ondo community robbery, many Nigerians daily become victims of brutal attacks by fellow citizens, who chose to survive by forcibly dispossessing others of their belongings. They are branded bandits in Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kogi and other vulnerable states in the North. They also have their tentacles spread as far as Edo State.
The Police Force, Nigeria’s principal law enforcement outfit, is poorly staffed and ill-equipped to cope with crime trends and magnitudes.
With a staff strength of less than 500,000 policemen in a country of about 200 million people, it is not surprising crime and insecurity are on the rise.
However, the inadequacy of the police is not just about strength, but structure and funding.
The Nigeria Police Force is poorly funded by the Federal Government. It lacks the basic tools and equipment to function optimally and until this anomaly is redressed, effective crime prevention and control will remain unattainable.
Also, the government in power needs to consider devolution of more powers to the states and local governments, including establishment of state police, as a necessary measure to improve governance and citizens’ safety and well-being.
The Governor Nasir el-Rufai committee on restructuring set up by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had since January 2018 submitted its report, recommending that the police should be moved from the Exclusive list to the Concurrent list in the Constitution to pave way for the establishment of state police. But many months after, that recommendation and others are still begging for implementation.
Policing will also still remain a tough challenge in the absence of employment opportunities for the youths and enabling environment for businesses to thrive. We urge the Buhari administration to give better and urgent attention to the issue of safety of citizens’ lives and property.
