BY: Justice Godfry
The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) has said it is dismayed and concerned about the unending wave of kidnapping and other violent crimes, being perpetrated by criminal elements across the country.
The latest manifestation of these nefarious activities, the Body said, is the widely reported blockade of the Abuja-Kaduna Highway by gangs of kidnappers resulting in the abduction of scores of travelers, including the Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and his daughter. Most unfortunate too, the driver of the UBEC Chairman was shot dead during the encounter with the viscous criminals.
In a message by Comrade Dr. Zikirullahi M. Ibrahim, the Executive Director, he said that CHRICED commiserates with UBEC over this tragic incident, just as we call on the security agencies to work round the clock to ensure the release of all travelers who are being held captive in the kidnappers den.
The messages reads: “Beyond this however, it is now very apparent that the viscous, audacious and terrible acts of criminality being perpetrated by these elements demand emergency measures.
“The rate at which kidnapping and other violent crimes have been ravaging different parts of the country call for very drastic steps. It is our considered view that in the face of the obvious lack of capacity of the security agencies to contain this rising threats, citizens would have to now be ready to take up the responsibility for the security of their lives and their property.
“At this rate therefore, and especially as it is clearly overwhelmed by security crisis engulfing many parts of the country, the government should allow law abiding citizens bear arms for self defense. This would bring about a balance of power, and would restore sanity. As disruptive as this kind of approach appears, it would be better than the current situation where criminals and hoodlums just move in unchallenged and mow down victims in cold blood without any effective response from those charged with the protection of lives and property. At most, what the security agencies have been doing are reactive steps, which are taken after the criminals have done the damage and long disappeared.
“Even in the aspect of ensuring justice for the victims of these criminal acts, the investigative and judicial institutions have collectively failed the Nigerian people, resulting in situations where known criminals go scot-free due to shoddy prosecution, legal technicalities and trial.
“In other very appalling situations, justice is delayed for so long that it loses its essence. The case of Evans the kidnapper who committed so many nefarious crimes of kidnapping, resulting in the death of innocent citizens is one of such cases. Till date, over one year after his arrest, his case is still dragging through our interminably slow courts. With the system being so slow to punish evil doers, criminals and lawbreakers, the impression is created that criminal activity pays, and that criminals can find ways to wriggle out of the arms of the law if they are caught.
“It is this reality that is fueling impunity across Nigeria to the point that lawlessness and criminality is now the order of the day. Given the fact that life is now so cheap, and could be cut short so easily, with the government unable to do anything about these challenges, citizens should now be allowed to take up the responsibility of protecting themselves from the threats posed by violent crimes. This is the least a government that cares about the right to life can do”.