With malice toward none, with charity for all, one still ends up with a picture that cuts both ways. The protest movement sparked by the EndSARS a few years back had forced a nationwide reckoning with a wide range of deep-rooted class-based inequities — in the economy, in health care, in education and even in our fledgling democracy — which then undermines the Nigerian promise of freedom and justice for all across this land.
The tragic events that precipitated the widespread demonstrations stirred strong emotions from the long oppressed Nigerians, which are today being entertained. While our federal, state and local governments wrestle with how to re-imagine relationships between themselves and with the social contract they entered into with Nigerians. What doused the tension and brought the nation back to life were concessions the government committed itself into.
Some of the measures considered and implemented in that aftermath included reviving policing structures, the question of human rights as a natural and inalienable right were the highlights. The justice system in the country has long been hamstrung in its ability to mete out justice when people’s civil rights are violated and checkmate the excesses and evil whims of people in the corridors of power. That is why there are imminent nationwide strikes looming over the nation like the Sword of Damocles. With all the work it has put in, the federal government has failed to thwart this so far.
The thing is that, the laws of the land and the consciousness of this land, explicitly made it clear that it is a crime to deprive someone of their constitutional rights while acting in an official or even unofficial capacity.
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Today, when state or local politicians who are connected are accused of misconduct, the federal government and its democratic institutions are often seen as the best avenue for justice — to conduct neutral investigations and to serve as a backstop when state or local investigations falter or are killed on arrival by the powers that be. But Nigeria has neither state nor local law enforcement within the framework of justice delivery and security for citizens.
There is a viral video featuring one of those citizens, Abdulmujib dan-Bilki, in handcuffs, presumably under arrest being brutalised, humiliated and dehumanised by people many commentators believe were doing the alleged bidding of the Kaduna State governor.
Citizen dan-Bilki was captured being interrogated for criticising the Kaduna governor, and the fact that he wasn’t even from Kaduna seemed to have been a subject of anger itself. In the clip, he is heard mentioning that he was a citizen of this country and that gives him the right to express himself with regards to any elected or unelected public officials.
Despite his pleas, telling them he had serious medical conditions including diabetes and heart problems, they went ahead to brutally whip him ceaselessly and mercilessly until he was brought to his knees. He could have easily had a fatal cardiac arrest! All because he had criticised the governor of a Nigerian state!
Even if he is not from Kaduna, the mere fact that he was in Kaduna for business or even pleasure meant that he was adding value to the Kaduna State economy. He is almost certainly also included in the state’s taxation net if he was in Kaduna for business. This is not to mention that the 1999 Constitution gives him the same rights as the Kaduna State governor. The constitution grants citizen dan-Bilki the right to vote and to be voted for, for any elective office in Kaduna.
But that is not an isolated event either. This is something that is starting to look like a staple for the men and women who call the shots especially in our federal and state authorities. There is already a sentiment making the rounds to the effect that the Tinubu government has restored the garrison-command politics former President Obasanjo was accused of institutionalising. Journalists who criticise the government or its officials are being hounded, and God help any politician who goes public with an accusation against the government. Ask Senator Ndume.
From the video clip, it is not clear whether the torturers of Mr dan-Bilki were indeed law enforcement officers or simply political thugs. However, according to the testimony of dan-Bilki himself, they were policemen. Reforms that followed the aftermath of EndSARS, such as the abolishment of the notorious police special forces known as SARS are quite vague and a series of judicial decisions that raised the standard of proof needed for a civil rights violation, it’s often difficult for federal and state institutions to hold law enforcement and local politicians accountable as long as they are on the side of power.
Much is being talked about how all that is happening is a grand scheme to secure the 2027 presidential election for President Tinubu. Some in fact believe that the Kano royal wahala also dangling over our heads like the Sword of Damocles is being inflamed by the Tinubu government which seems desperate to secure the Kano battleground ahead of time.
There are insinuations that the deposed emir, HRH Aminu Ado, is pro-Tinubu and that means he will add value to Tinubu’s chances in Kano. That is why the Nassarawa Palace he is residing in is a fortress guarded by the overwhelming force of the federal government which exclusively controls all security, law enforcement, intelligence and military structures in the country.
The story is that the emir enthroned by the Kano government, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi is a wingman of Mallam Nasir el-Rufa’i, who has apparently fallen out of favour in the Tinubu administration despite all he had done to bring it to power. Mallam el-Rufa’i is himself being prosecuted by the Kaduna State government after a parliamentary probe investigating alleged corruption and embezzlement charges.
Now, I am certainly not batting for el-Rufa’i or any one side. I don’t know whether el-Rufa’i had indeed committed the offences he is being accused of. Maybe he is just a political adversary of the government and that is why he is in trouble. I don’t know what happened… what I know is that if el-Rufa’i has any skeletons to hide, it is quite possible those he is standing against also have some.
The argument is that the wings of anyone who poses a risk to Tinubu’s reelection has to be clipped ahead of time. Tinubu won by a narrow margin, and he or his handlers are afraid that he can make it in 2027 given the penury and misery his policies have inflicted on Nigerian citizens so far. The nationwide “hardship” protests looming can easily snowball into a calamity as dire as what is called the Arab Spring.
It also looks like the planners are being encouraged by the political opposition. It is prospect that seems to have profoundly rattled the politicians in power because they have a good idea of how angry and fed-up ordinary Nigerians are. These are probably the same people who made sure that Senator Ndume was put in his place for telling Nigerians that their president has been fenced off by malign interest groups.
When public officials and their surrogates engage in misconduct, people expect justice, often in the form of a federal investigation and criminal prosecution. Instances of police and political violence, including the grotesque abuse of Abdulmujib dan-Bilki are absolutely unacceptable. There is a very easy compact that can end the anger and hence the protests… give Nigerians justice. Give Nigerians freedom! It takes only a stroke of the pen, if they’re serious. But we, the people, must also understand that the sword of justice cuts both ways. I think I can write volumes of books on the failures of the Nigerian commoners too. We move on a two-way street on which malice and charity ride alongside us too.
I stand to be corrected, but I am confident that I speak for many Nigerians if not all Nigerians when l demand justice for Mr dan-Bilki. I also demand a radical paradigm shift in policing and also accountability on both the demand and supply sides of security and justice. We need to send a clear message that the Constitution and the laws of the land are inviolable by anyone, including rogue politicians drunk on power.
Accordingly, therefore, we declare that we are all Abdulmujibs, whether from Kano or Bauchi or Benue or Akwa Ibom or Ekiti… and we demand justice NOW!
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