By Ehiwe O. Sam.
Nigeria as a Federal state has an avalanche of Acts, Laws, and Bye laws. Ever heard of the Bight of Bonny Act of 1975, or the Flags and Coat of Arms Act of 1960 or the Corneal Grafting of 5th May 1973 or the Boy’s Scout Act of 1922? All of these are laws applicable to Nigeria. These laws are so many that some of them sometimes sound strange.
Murder is a capital offence in Nigeria which carries with it a capital punishment. This kind of punishment in my view is not just aimed at punishing the offenders but also to completely nip in the bud the subsequent commission of such an offence by other persons. This is why perhaps our criminal jurisprudence not only punishes the offender but also the accessories after the fact. See section 7 of the Criminal Code. It is important to note however that it is not all killings that qualify as murder. In fact, there are some killings that carry no punishment. Such killings is what we refer to as ‘legal deprivation of lives’. See section 33 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 as Amended. See also Ozaki v State.
It is now very rife to read in the national dailies the gory stories of how innocent Nigerians are killed by stray bullets emanating from the riffles of unrefined security personnel. These innocent citizens are killed by officers who more often than not remove their badges when committing these dastardly acts to obscure their identities. These acts have been condemned by the courts in many instances. See Bello v Attorney General of Oyo State. The question that needs be answered is whether these killings amount to Murder.
The law is that where there is no malice or intention to kill; then it must fall within the ambit of manslaughter. See Musa v State. This is so because for any killing to qualify as murder, it must satisfy the conditions of malice and pre- conceived intention to kill. See Olalekan v. State.
Under the Nigerian law, manslaughter is a very serious offence punishable with life imprisonment, if proved beyond reasonable doubt. See section 36(5) CFRN, 1999 As Amended. Thus, if at all the instances of incessant stray bullet killings does not amount to murder, then, at least it should come within the province of Manslaughter. But how many of these officers have been convicted or even prosecuted for these killings? I bet 20% would be an exaggeration.
The recent killings in Owerri Town of Imo State is pitiable and regrettable indeed. It will be remembered that before these killings, the state government had announced moves to demolish the popular market at the city center. The traders, common men and women resisted the move and vowed to oppose any move by the government to implement the plan. The government in its resolve to make a tourist center out of the market decided to go on with the planned demolition despite its unpopularity among traders.
On that fateful day, there was a massive deployment of Army Officers, officers of the Department of state security service, police officers and even men of the Air force, all armed to the teeth and prepared to quell any resistance from the unarmed traders. It is quite lugubrious that even the air force would be deployed against unarmed traders. All of these came at the instance of the state government. Bullets soon pervaded the scene as the military began to do what they know how best to do. A stray bullet ran into the eyes of a 10 years old lad who had come to help his poor father savage some of his wares as the shops were being demolished. The stray bullets found its way into the eye sockets of the young lad and created a way out through the back of his head shattering his soft and tender skull. He of course died on the spot. The military and even the state government blatantly denied responsibility even when the evidence, the lifeless body of the lad was before their very eyes.
Now, if this does not amount to murder, it must surely be manslaughter. But the pertinent questions are: will there be any prosecution? Will there be any conviction?
It is submitted conclusively that what Nigeria needs is not multiplicity of laws, but a will to implement the already existing laws. For example, it is an offence to fly a tattered and rumpled Nigerian Flag. See section 7 of the Flags and Coat of Arms Act. There are many rumpled flags flying everywhere even in police stations and there has been no prosecution. The effective machineries must be put in place to ensure that our existing laws are implemented.
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