Using uniformed men in civilian disputes

INDISCIPLINE and lawlessness have become profoundly entrenched in the country’s socio-political space, manifesting in diverse and concerning forms and shapes and impairing orderliness and the rule of law. Usually, there is cacophony, and rightly so, when evidence of lawlessness in the society points in the official direction. But the truth is that some private individuals too, especially the privileged ones, are no less culpable, judging by their penchant for anarchy and abridgement of the cause of justice using uniformed men. Few days ago, one of two sisters in a household dispute in Lagos invited a soldier to deal with their neighbour but unfortunately, the soldier accidentally shot the elder sister dead. The sketchy narrative of the sordid incident was that the two sisters who had lived at a house located at Seaside Estate, Badore, Ajah, Lagos State, were prevented by a ‘lead tenant’ from relocating to another area until they paid their portion of the outstanding bills. But the younger of the two sisters would have none of that; she allegedly invited her soldier friend to beat up the ‘intruder’ and in the ensuing melee, there was an accidental discharge from the soldier’s gun, killing her elderly sister.

And as is customary for uniformed men who have committed fatal errors while performing unauthorised tasks, the aberrant soldier on illegal duty bolted without waiting to assist in evacuating the victim to the hospital.  Apparently, the sister of the victim who invited the soldier to intervene in a civil and a household matter wanted to get her own version of justice through the back door and in an anarchic fashion, but it boomeranged.  A simple disagreement that could have been reported officially to the police for investigation and settlement one way or the other at the station or in the court of law was allowed to snowball into a disaster that needlessly claimed a life. And this adverse incident happened just because the one party who had access to a uniformed man wanted to be oppressive by causing violence to be unleashed on the other party.

Recently, also, a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Warri, Delta State, allegedly stripped two sisters naked and beat up their mother over landlord-tenant issues. This is a grave turn of events because ordinarily, the normal expectation is that in a civil matter, the aggrieved party will make a recourse to the police, as it happened in the instant case, to make an arrest, investigate and settle the matter or charge it to court. But this is not what often happens because in instances like the one described, policemen are not just going to make an arrest; they are recruited by those with personal connections with them to help deal with the person(s) with whom they have a dispute.

Though a majority of such cases usually go unreported, the society is replete with instances where privileged persons and those who have connections with them procure the services of uniformed men to do their ignoble biddings in contravention of the law. This is awful and unacceptable. We deplore the use of uniformed men to settle personal scores as it portrays the society as lawless. Notwithstanding the fact that even the state is sometimes caught in similar reprehensible acts, it is lawless and irresponsible of any citizen to invite uniformed men to intervene in civil disagreements  with a view to carrying  out dastardly actions that impair the rights of other citizens and vitiate the rule of law. By the same token, uniformed men who surrender themselves to be used to unleash anarchy on other citizens for whatever considerations are unruly and are a disgrace to their respective organisations.

Perhaps it has become imperative to have an official system that tracks violators and victims at some critical supervisory levels in the law enforcement agencies so that all cases are captured, investigated and appropriate sanctions meted out to perpetrators. The sanction grid for undisciplined uniformed men who engage in illegal activities could also be reviewed to make it sterner while implementation should be stricter and devoid of espirit de corps that could pervert the course of justice. The objective is to deter would-be perpetrators and erase the impression of impunity that tends to bolster the confidence of wilful uniformed men. While it is patently dangerous and unacceptable for any citizen to resort to self-help over any grievances, it is even more dodgy and objectionable to surreptitiously enlist the services of uniformed men to accomplish such illegality.

We urge the relevant authorities to launch a painstaking inquiry into the Lagos incident while the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, should be dispassionate and show more than a passing interest in the handling of the alleged show of shame in which one of his DPOs in Warri has been implicated.  The culprits, both uniformed men and their civilian accomplices, should be made to face the wrath of the law. It does not bode well for the image of the country, and indeed it is a perilous trend that discipline and decorum are fast becoming rarities among members of regimented services, the same way it is a worrying development amongst the civilian population.