By Jesusegun Alagbe
JESUSEGUN ALAGBE analyses the dichotomy between the government’s handling of peaceful citizens and insurgents terrorising the country
Fifteen days after bandits stormed Greenfield University in Kaduna State and abducted 23 students, a tweet by the Presiden Muhammadu Buhari, erupted anger on social media, leaving many with the question: did the President really mean it when he earlier said his regime would go hard on bandits and other insurgents terrorising the country?
The tweet, posted on May 5, was after the bandits had killed five of the abducted students and threatened to kill more if the government refused to pay a ransom of N100m.
It was also after the remaining 29 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, were released by bandits who kidnapped them from their school on March 11. The bandits had earlier released 10 of their captives.
The tweet from the President’s verified handle @MBuhari read, “I welcome the release of the 27 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, and congratulate their friends, families, and the government and people of Kaduna State. We are happy they have been released.
“Our deep appreciation to all who contributed one way or the other to this happy outcome, in particular the defence and security agencies, the officials of the Ministry of Environment, and the Government of Kaduna State. We equally thank Nigerians for their prayers.”
Then, the President continued, “I again appeal for the release of the students of Greenfield University and all other citizens held in captivity. We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Nigerians live in a country where everyone can move where and when they want — without the fear of kidnapping & banditry.”
It was the President’s use of the word “appeal” that erupted the anger of Nigerians, who were appalled that he would be begging a set of criminals who he had earlier vowed to “crush.”
Buhari had, on April 23 after the bandits kidnapped the Greenfield students, fumed that the “insane and persistent violence against innocent people must stop,” adding that “such wanton disregard for life will be brought to an end sooner than later.”
“These criminals should stop pushing their luck too far by believing that the government lacks the capacity to crush them,” Buhari was quoted to have said in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
It was the toning down of the President’s disposition that shocked many people.
What has been more shocking for many people is that in spite of the President’s appeal, 16 of the Greenfield University students are still being held by the abductors.
“It is unfortunate that some people have chosen to take the law into their own hands under the guise of banditry while the government, whose responsibility is to protect the citizens from such devilish acts, watches helplessly without doing anything,” the National Publicity Secretary of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Isuwa Dogo, said.
“The choice is left for the government, but I don’t think that if the abducted children were to be the President’s sons or daughters, or the Senate president’s children, they would have allowed them (bandits) to kill the students without doing everything possible to free them from the hands of their captors.”
A few days ago, the parents of the remaining kidnapped Greenfield University students practically begged the Federal Government to rescue their children.
They said the bandits refused to release their children even after paying N60m ransom, meaning that the bandits had increased their demand to a cumulative N160m.
Sad to say, it is episode such as this that has made many citizens to devise a comparison between how the government handles criminal elements and how it treats non-criminal citizens such as protesters.
“There have been a lot of instances where the Buhari regime clamped down on protesters whereas criminals are handled softly,” a Lagos-based political commentator and lawyer, Paul Babatunde, told newsmen.
Such instances are not far-fetched.
Just about two weeks ago, the acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, declared war on Biafra secessionists, ordering the Police Mobile Force and Special Tactical Squad of the Force not to adhere to the rules of engagement while dealing with the secessionist groups.
Baba said this in Enugu after he launched Operation Restore Peace, an aftermath of deadly attacks on police infrastructure in the South-East and South-South regions.
“Don’t mind the media shout; do the job I command you. If anyone accuses you of human rights violation, the report will come to my table and you know what I will do. So, take the battle to them wherever they are and kill them all. Don’t wait for an order,” Baba fumed.
“The time is now. Today’s (two weeks ago) launch of Operation RP by the Nigeria Police follows the directives of Mr President to the Nigeria Police to re-evaluate and emplace new operational strategies to stem the tide of violence and secessionist agenda, not only in the South-East, but across the country,” he added.
However, while the acts of violence in the South-East are being condemned, human rights experts said it was unlawful for the police chief to issue an order clamping down on secessionists.
“That is an international crime [that is, the shooting of secessionists as directed by the acting IG]. In his interest and that of his officers, men and women, he should be stopped or resisted openly,” a former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, said via Twitter.
Some lawyers have also pointed out that Baba’s order of shooting secessionist groups is explicitly encouraging police officers to violate the Geneva Conventions, which try specifically to protect all human beings affected by armed conflict, especially those who are not, or no longer, directly engaged in hostilities.
“The acting IG’s order is a dangerous one and he should retract it. That some criminals are attacking police infrastructure and other government facilities should never be a cause for shooting at secessionists,” Babatunde, the Lagos lawyer, said.
Some other Nigerians, particularly on social media, were curious on why the police chief had never issued such an order against bandits, killer herdsmen, and Boko Haram terrorists who wield sophisticated weapons like AK-47s.
“Pushing for secession is never a crime. There are instances of tribes all over the world who pulled out of other countries, and I don’t see any reason why people cannot agitate for something.
“The best way out is for any government in a situation like this is to dialogue with the secessionists. Study what their demands are, and promise to address their concerns,” a social commentator based in Abuja, Taiwo Oyeniran, said.
Meanwhile, another instance of the government’s high-handedness on peaceful citizens is with the recent protest organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress in Kaduna State.
The protest was to demonstrate against the mass sacking of workers by the state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
According to the labour union, El-Rufai recently sacked 5,000 workers “unjustly” – bringing to around 45,000 the number of workers relieved of their jobs since the governor came into power in May 2015.
After the Kaduna State government refused to reinstate the affected workers despite many threats by the labour union, the NLC embarked on a five-day warning strike.
The strike, which is supposed to end five days after its commenceent, however, was suspended after the Federal Government’s intervention.
But prior to this development, in a move that was condemned by human rights organisations and activists, El-Rufai, in a tweet shortly after strike began, declared the NLC President and the protest leader, Aliyu Wabba, wanted.
The governor accused the labour leader and others of economic sabotage, saying their protest had led to “shutting down electricity, coercion and restraints of personal freedom, trespass into public facilities and denial of access to healthcare for several of our citizens.”
Citing the Nigerian constitution, human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, said the governor lacked the power to declare Wabba and other union leaders wanted.
“By the combined effect of the Trade Union Act and the Nigerian Constitution, Wabba and other labour leaders have the unquestionable rights to participate in the peaceful warning strike and mass protests against further retrenchment of workers in the Kaduna State public service,” Falana, a senior advocate said in a statement.
Also, the Deputy Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Kolawole Oluwadare, said declaring NLC leaders “wanted” for peacefully exercising their human rights was antithetical to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the country’s international obligations.
Another instance of the government’s wielding the big stick on peaceful citizens was during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
The protests, which sprang up on Twitter and gained worldwide attention and media coverage, were against the human rights abuse of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police.
But the protests came to a head on October 20, 2020 when soldiers reportedly fired at several unarmed demonstrators at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos, allegedly killing some citizens.
Amid the denials by the military and government that protesters were shot, on May 8, the Medical Director of Grandville Trauma Centre, Aranmolate Ayobami, told the Lagos Judicial Panel that the hospital treated 15 patients who suffered gunshot injuries during the October 20, 2020, Lekki shooting incident.
Ayobami, a surgeon at the hospital, said the patients were all transferred from other hospitals in Lagos.
“We had a total number of 15 patients, four referrals from Vedic life Healthcare, seven referrals from Reddington hospital, and two from Doreen hospital,” he said. He did not, however, give details on the remaining two patients.
Similarly, many won’t perhaps forget the Buhari regime’s clampdown on Shiite protesters.
Perhaps the most unforgettable experience would be the alleged killings of at least 348 Shia Muslims by the Nigerian Army on December 12, 2015.
Popularly tagged the Zaria massacre, the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State, attacked the Shia Muslims, who were mostly members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, reportedly killing many civilians and burying them in a mass grave.
Human Rights Watch alleged that the government buried the corpses without the family members’ permission.
The reason for the massacre, as stated by the army, was that members of the IMN, while protesting, attempted to kill the then Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.
But this claim has been strongly rejected by the Islamic group.
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International also debunked the army’s claim, arguing that the massacre occurred without any provocation as the protesters were unarmed.
The incident generated massive outrage, with Amnesty and others describing it as one of the worst human rights violations in Nigeria since return to democracy. There were also protests in countries like India and Iran to condemn the killing of the Shia Muslims.
While non-criminal citizens are being harassed, many people are left bewildered on how insurgents like bandits and Boko Haram terrorists are treated by the government.
In January when Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu ordered herdsmen to leave the state’s forest reserves due to the illegal activities of the killer herdsmen, the Presidency rebuffed the governor’s directive, saying the governor could not issue such an order – even when the order was said to have been for security reason.
Of concern is also the government’s rehabilitation of Boko Haram terrorists, whose activities have led to the killing of thousands of people and displacement of over two million in the North-East.
Just like many observers suggesting the government has been soft on criminals, the President of the Association of Industrial Security Operators of Nigeria, Dr Ona Ekhomu, recently told our correspondent that insurgents needed high-handedness.
“Let me tell you something, you cannot placate any insurgent, you cannot placate any terrorist. You can’t pay them enough; let me sound that note of warning. For almost five years, we have seen this amnesty option on the table and it has failed woefully,” he said.