THE recent callous killing of Ogbe Onokpite reminds us again about the volatile political terrain in Nigeria. It also highlights the way and manner in which political killings have so far been handled.Most if not all are allowed to go unravelled and unsolved; literally fading into oblivion. A few days ago, 38-year-old Onokpite who was a gubernatorial candidate in Delta State, met a violent death. The narration of what happened provided by an eyewitness and the victim's reported utterances before he died, makes compelling reading. Already, statements have been put out by the Nigeria Police alleging he was armed. His family denied this vehemently. Whatever the circumstances, no-one deserves to be brutally murdered. Onokpite is one in a long list of Nigerian political players who have been murdered.// Apart from politicians, several journalists have lost their lives in mysterious circumstances; many ordinary Nigerians have had their lives brutally taken. We get to know about the incidents,and witness an outpouring of sympathy followed by a deafening silence. We return to our daily routines, while the number of murder victims grows regularly. I'm a die-hard viewer of crime TV programmes and I keep wondering about Nigeria's crime-solving processes. Crime solving in advanced countries, is a serious and painstaking process. Forensic science plays a big role in solving crimes. Crime laboratories are extremely busy places in these countries. I'm curious, does the Nigeria Police's Criminal Investigation Department have a working forensic science laboratory' Do they conduct DNA testing' Do they collect samples, hairs, bullets etc for examination' Do they cordon off crime scenes' Many questions occur to me. Maybe I'm obsessed with crime TV programmes! My curiosity takes me to the Nigeria Police (NP) website. Reading through, I learn from the NP website that Nigeria 'have the primary responsibility to prevent crime against yourself, loved ones and your properties'. I also gather that members of the public have the option of reporting stolen vehicles on-line. You are also encouraged to register your vehicle with them on-line! I searched through and read about security tips. Then I clicked on Department menu hoping to have a read through, but it tells me "I'm not authorised to view the page'. So, I clicked on the page of the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim and read his biodata. According to the citation, he was born on April 1, 1953, in Ringim Local Government, Jigawa State.Essentially, the website is a PR exercise. I explored another website called 'Police Insignia' where under 'D' Department of Investigation and Intelligence, a number of operations are listed such as Criminal Investigations, Interpol, Antiguitics, Crime Prevention Policies, Narcotics, Forensic Matters, etc. Stumbling upon this information at least demonstrates that the NP has the structures in place but whether tayo_agunbiade@yahoo.com 'THE 2012 Budget is a disaster waiting to happen. The budget, tagged: 'Budget of fiscal consolidation, Inclusive Growth and Job Creation', is an anti-people and designed purely in the service of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and their local lackeys who dictate to the Nigerian Government'. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) they are effective or not is another matter. To be honest, from the rate of murder mysteries in Nigeria, the agency leaves a lot to be desired. When a murder takes place, the police promise not to "leave any stone unturned." This phrase is repeated so often that, it has become a cliche and ineffective; worthless with no iota of credibility. What the Nigerian public want is to see justice for murder victims and criminals brought to book and punished for their crimes. The public is fed up of reading about people being killed and the law enforcement agents unable to get to the bottom of the matter. In advanced countries, the state throws its set up an incident room and its men and women work on the case. Both print and electronic media have vibrant crime desks that, project and monitor cases; keeping the public and victims' families updated, until the matter is brought to a logical conclusion and the family has some form of closure -questions are answered - knowing the case is solved. Some cases (cold cases) take years to crack, but investigation officers plod on within available resources. Indeed, once a murder occurs, there's no silence because essentially, the media as part of its role in society, keeps the matter alive within the public domain. On its part, the Metropolitan Police in Britain, gets on top of a murder case, sends forensic scientists in; follows up on clues, interviews the victim's neighbours, family members and associates, etc. They don't record hundred percent success, but they certainly throw in all their energies to secure a conviction most of the time. The police department of a crime-solving TV programme had the following motto inscribed on its walls. "The first duty of society is justice." Whatever the circumstances, justice is what persons whose lives are brutally cut short, should have. Therefore Ogbe Onokpite and many other murdered Nigerians should not have their cases muddled up and locked away in some file cabinet. The Nigeria Police should by now be eager to shed its lousy, feckless image and get on to do some real policing. When Mr. Hafiz Ringim took over as Inspector- General of Police, I wrote an article calling on him to provide a ringing account during his tenure. In other words, transform a notoriously slothful structure into a vibrant, result-oriented one. One with credibility and public trust. Mr Ringim, please don't let Ogbe Onokpite become another statistic. Text only to: 07086279194
Click here to read full news..
