Only someone living under a rock can claim that they are unaware of Nigeria’s current fight against corruption. It is a worthy objective no doubt because for the kind of wealth that has come to Nigeria over the years since our Independence, there is no reason why we should be lacking in basic infrastructure, and most of our public services struggling to function. What most human and economic development reports clearly point out as the culprit is corruption. People get into government and forget that all citizens are entitled to a slice of this national cake through the provision of social services, policies to encourage economic growth and diversification of our economy, modern infrastructure, security and all those other things that we jet around the globe to experience once in a while.
That Nigeria is broke is undeniable. We can feel it; our bank accounts feel it too. So yes, everybody who stuffed their mouths full with the national cake should be made to vomit every morsel in excess of what they were entitled to. The assessment of that entitlement of course being what is “reasonable” by objective standards, not the standard that power drunk people in a state of elevation-shock consider to be reasonable. However, I am not a fan of arbitrariness. It frightens me. So, although justice from the courts might take a long time, I am more comfortable with that process.
One of the people who has been called to answer for his time is office is the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi. Last week, I saw the video of Akpobolokemi being forcefully taken away just outside the premises of the Federal High Court in Lagos by law enforcement officers. The scene gave me chills. Do not get me wrong, I am not sympathetic to Akpobolokemi or any other person accused of fraud. I am also not one of those who think street criminals deserve to be treated worse than white-collar criminals; their effect on society is the same as far as they deprive other people of their rights to property, equal opportunity, and other enumerated and un-enumerated rights guaranteed by the constitution or endowed on us as human beings. What terrifies me is the use of brute force for the sake of brute force.
So why was I disturbed by the drama between Akpobolokemi and law enforcement? For the same reason that I am disturbed when I see a victim of extrajudicial violence on the streets. It is all so arbitrary, and while these people are of no interest to me today, one day the victim might be me or my child, dehumanised and deprived of justice or even killed. If Akpobolokemi, in the presence of his high-powered, SAN legal team, could be so roughed up, one can only imagine what people with no legal representation are going through in the hands of law enforcement. I could not make out the conversation between law enforcement, the lawyers and Akpobolokemi before he was forcibly taken away. The details of that conversation might be important to understand why there was need for the force. My general concern is that all parties respect the rule of law, follow due process and refrain from using force where it is unnecessary. Let the “fighting” of corruption be done in court and not on the streets.
Credits: Kaine Agary, Punch
You are not just right you have hit the nail on the head at the same time. What realy makes the whole process almost stupid is the so called Crusade against corruption as if the country ist made up of religious movements alone. Common sense seems to have become the most uncommon of all senses in the fight against corruption.It has become even more complicated when the judges and lawyers have upfront been taged corrupt, who then is the judge here. If things do not quickly change we may reap the fruit of recklessness and that is called total anarchy.