By Chioma Obinagwam
A Nigerian policewoman was shot and killed by River’s State Coronavirus Task Force, instituted by the governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, for trying to protect traders from highhandedness of the task force on Thursday.
The incident has since sparked public debate questioning the essence of the lockdown and the role of the law enforcement agents in the protection of lives and property at this critical time.
It was Albert Einstein, a German-born theoretical physicist and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics that said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
Confiance News, responding to the clarion call against the spate of extra-judicial killings in the country, took to Facebook and was able to lay its hands on some photos of the gruesome murder of the policewoman posted by Uzukwu Patrick Eze on his Facebook page.
This is coming on the heels of the killing of an 18 year old boy, identified as Friday Arunsi by a trigger-happy police officer at Ebem Ohafia in Ohafia Local Government Area (LGA) of Abia State, south eastern part of the country during the lockdown .
Confiance News recalls that the youths of the community in reacting to the murder went on the rampage to protest the unprovoked killing of their son, among other wanton killings.
There is, however, no gain saying that Nigeria’s security operatives appear to have killed more people than the virus.
“Reports showing that while #COVID19 itself had been responsible for 11 deaths, the actions of security agents enforcing lockdowns had led to the deaths of 18 people
Confiance News also reported that on Thursday, April 23, 2020, Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) took to Twitter to announce that the total number of deaths recorded due to COVID-19 complications in Nigeria was 18.
This is in no way compared to the number of extrajudicial killings in Nigeria during the current period of lockdown enforced by the government as a way of containing the spread of coronavirus pandemic, which as at April 16, had already accounted for 18 deaths (not to mention the undocumented deaths) which has outpaced the number of deaths recorded due to COVID-19 complications.
Reacting to the menace, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu confirmed the rising rates of extra-judicial killings compared to COVID-19 deaths.
“Reports showing that while #COVID19 itself had been responsible for 11 deaths, the actions of security agents enforcing lockdowns had led to the deaths of 18 people,” Ojukwu said on Twitter.
The high-handedness of security operatives seem to be more on their civilian prey than their fellow security agents even as the murder of the policewoman by her colleagues quite underscores the fact that the excesses of security operatives know no limits.It is also a clear evidence of a house divided against itself.
Sadly, this growing trend undermines the efforts of the NHRC, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and stakeholders that have been in the forefront of the fight against the menace.
One begins to wonder whether the aim of the lockdown is not already being defeated.
Leave a comment