All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated... As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all... No man is an island, entire of itself... any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” — Jonne Donne.

The Civil Liberties Organisation’s 2004 Year Book chronicling the state of human rights and governance in the year under review and entitled Clear and Present Danger is a must read. It is a classical expose on the excesses of our security agencies.

“If the government failed in 2004 to advance the democratisation process in the political sector, it also failed in the civil and social sectors. The government failed to curb the excesses of the public and other security agencies. The police remained the usual self, and continued to maim and kill citizens in extra-judicial circumstances. This was quite apart from the issue of extorting money from motorists and arresting innocent citizens for ransom. There is little doubt that the police and other security agencies are the source of the most egregious violations of civil rights: both in their political role as protectors of state security and their civil role as protectors of peace, law and order. These violations include not only those that occur in the streets, such as extortion, illegal arrest, and the use of undue force against citizens, but also detention without trial, torture and inhuman treatment, and extrajudicial killing.”

Unfortunately, 2004 is a decade plus, and nothing has changed; rather, the situation has degenerated abysmally. Deaths of innocent Nigerians in the hands of security agencies have continued unabated in geometric progression. Few days ago, seven passengers and the driver of the vehicle were sent to their untimely graves, by the excesses of a sister security agency, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Enugu.

Though that the story slightly changed in form and narrative, all stories point to the unethical conducts of the security agents. The common thread in the incident is that “seven persons were reportedly burnt to death on after officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps opened fire on a commercial bus on Milikin Hill Road, Enugu.”

The story continued: “It was learnt that the bus had barely left Enugu New Market, located a few kilometres from Milikin Hill, when armed civil defence officials asked the driver to stop. The Enugu headquarters of the NSCDC is near New Market. The driver reportedly refused to stop and sped away, as the NSCDC men chased the bus in a Hilux van. It was gathered that some other agents of the security agency boarded a tricycle to join in the chase along Milikin Hill Road, which is bordered on both sides by a deep valley.”

It was alleged that the commercial bus was getting to the end of the road, when the civil defence officers opened fire on the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road and crash into the valley, when the vehicle reportedly burst into flames, instantly.

It was also alleged that what provoked the hot chase was the driver’s refusal to part with N50 bribe. What a shame of a country! Even the defence from, the Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC, Enugu State Command, Mr. Denny-Manuel Iwuchukwu, that the bus driver “abducted” a civil defence officer who entered the vehicle to force the driver to stop for violating traffic regulations, and the bus fell into the valley and burst into flames while running away from the NSCDC men, who were chasing the vehicle to rescue their colleague, could not hold water, rather added salt to the injury.

The “Enugu 8” has added to the list of Nigerians who have lost their lives in extra-judicial circumstances by security agents. They include Chinwendu Micah, a final year student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, from Ugwunagbo, Abia State, who was felled by the bullets of one ASP Ben Alifi in Ebonyi State sometimes in 2004; 17-year-old Izuchukwu Ayogu and Nnaemeka Ugwuoke, whose mutilated bodies without eyes, brains, and reproductive organs were found in a forest, after police in Nsukka arrested them on a Sunday in March, 2001.What of the Ughelli 6 in 1983, Apo 6 in 2005, over 20 persons killed at Afiesere-Ughelli in 2006, Waliyu Abudu in 2008, Ramonni Balogun in 2013, Suzanna Alamagani in 2013, Ogbe Onokpite in November 2011, Aisagbonbuan Osagie, a truck-driver, on 4th February 2014 in Benin City, and Femi Awoyale in February, 2014.

It is common knowledge that security agencies’ response to threats should be proportionate to the threat. The operatives throw professional caution and rules of engagement to the wind, as live ammunitions are used on defenceless citizens, in a densely populated market. It was reported that the casualty rate escalated when soldiers who were drafted to put the situation under control arrived the scene. One would have expected the operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to study the situation and design the best approach to handle it. The lives of innocent civilians are worth more than whatever operations they went for in the market, and no amount of provocation could warrant them to apply live ammunition in a densely populated environment.

We don’t want to delve into the argument of why our security agencies are still using live ammunition in the 21^st century, to demobilise mobs, while pepper spray and synthetic ammunition can serve the same purpose. That is an argument for another day.

Also, an article entitled Weapon Handling and Phantom Discharge, vested the security agents with responsibility of keeping the weapon pointed in a safe direction (where there would be no injuries to persons or damage to property in the event of a discharge); keeping the finger off the trigger until the gun is on a target and the decision to shoot is made; be sure of the target and the target backstop.

Recently, there have been calls to redesign the training of our security agencies to expose them to academic works on human psychology, human rights, and the constitution. The proponents of this arrangement also advocate a review of academic entry requirements of the security agencies. They are of the view that the proposal, if implemented, would go a long way in enhancing the security agencies’ performance and respect for the civil population.

There is a dispassionate appeal to our security agents not to stretch the fragile security situation in the country – which is occasioned by ethnic suspicion, hunger in the land because of harsh economic conditions – any bit further.

•Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu writes from Aba; can be reached on keshiafrica@gmail.com

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