The killing of Master Sunday

THE State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCID) of the Lagos State command of the Nigeria Police is reportedly on the trail of a middle-aged man known as Alloy in connection with the recent killing of a 12-year-old apprentice simply identified as Sunday. The boy was allegedly beaten to death over a missing N1,000 belonging to the accused. According to media reports, Alloy beat the boy to death at No 2, Thomas Salako Street in the Ogba area of Lagos State on January 10.

A neighbour, James Agwu, who confirmed the incident, said that the suspect owned a cooking gas refilling shop in the area and  had about three apprentices working with him. One of the apprentices identified as John said their boss had accused the deceased of stealing the missing sum. It is unclear whether the deceased admitted stealing the money or not, but he paid with his life in the most horrendous circumstances. According to Agwu, Alloy’s neighbours woke up in the middle of the night to hear the deceased screaming as a result of the severe torture being inflicted on him by the suspect. All the entreaties made to Alloy to put a stop to the boy’s ordeal fell on deaf ears. And when the boy eventually stopped screaming, they assumed that he had got a reprieve, not knowing that he had breathed his last.

Regardless of the nature of the allegation the suspect levelled against the deceased, taking the law into his own hands, especially against a minor, was definitely not an option. Sadly, that point has now been tragically proved. To be sure, a cluster of factors, including poverty and poor welfare policies by the government, have combined to make this obviously avoidable tragedy possible. Definitely, an arrangement that has a minor working as an apprentice under an ill-prepared and psychologically ill-equipped supervisor is hopelessly flawed. Under normal circumstances, the 12-year-old  should have been in school, specifically junior secondary school, not working as an apprentice under anyone. The details that led to the deceased dropping out of school and being forced to live with an extremely mean, cantankerous boss are not yet in the public domain, but they are likely to have had a lot to do with poverty.

What kind of society or country allows its minors, irrespective of their socioeconomic status, to live in such inadequate circumstances with overburdened supervisors playing parental roles? In the kind of predatory system that Nigeria represents, that is tragedy writ large or calamity waiting to happen. Ideally, this possibility ought to have been forestalled through a functional welfare system which provides for the needs of vulnerable children like Master Sunday. Alas, Master Sunday was cut down prematurely, betrayed by a system that preys on young, vulnerable citizens.

It is easy and convenient to betray effusive emotions of frustration, anger or even bewilderment on sighting or hearing of such atrocities as the one perpetrated by the suspect in this case. But such emotions, while necessary, will not prevent a recurrence. The predisposing factors need to be adequately dealt with. Nigeria as a sovereign state should be able to guarantee its citizens a decent quality of  life, such that felons like the suspect on the run in the extant case would not be given the opportunity to perpetrate atrocities. In any case, as we have said time and again, evil persists in this country because its perpetrators are not made to bear the consequences of their actions. There are laws but they are often breached by those who have political connections or the power of money. It is a fact that law enforcement agents often connive with wealthy criminals to pervert the cause of justice. In such a scenario, justice cannot be done.

Of course, in the case under reference, we hope that the long arm of the law catches up with the suspect in no time, and that he is made to pay for his unspeakable, unconscionable act of horror. But beyond that, it is equally important to stop these ugly, untoward developments in their tracks.