"No Murderers Will Go Unpunished": Another Deceptious Pill From The 'IGP' To Gullible Nigerians
The Nigeria Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu said in a recent interview with Channels television that "no murderers will go unpunished" under his watch.
This extremely offends the intelligence of fair-minded people anywhere, Even to the untrained eyes, the statement is grossly misleading at best, but seems targeted at devising a means to instigating a conspirative killing for a particular people that are already marked for total extermination.
I confidently affirm this because the word ‘punishment’ carries an entirely different meaning when it is in respect to any matter relating to the Fulani. They always go unpunished as far as the Fulani governed Nigeria government is concerned. If anything at all, only a few Fulani perpetrators get just a slap on the wrist; like getting arrested, detained for a few hours, then released afterwards to go free.
The police force has gone as far as calling for negotiation with the murderous Fulani. Prominent politicians from northern Nigeria callously suggest amnesty, guaranteed salary, or rehabilitation as potential solutions to the Fulani vicious and murderous acts. Compared to the government-approved Lekki massacre or the routine shooting of the flag-waving peaceful agitators of Biafra, the behaviour of the government in this Buhari's regime and the accomplice of the security forces remains an affront to justice.
Watching Fulani wielding sophisticated guns (AK47s) designed only for fighting a war makes fellow citizens’ eyes pop in disbelief. This is especially unjust, given that no one has the right to own guns under the Nigerian constitution. Despite the fact that 1900 people were killed violently in 2020 (according to the International Christian Concern) by these Fulani terrorists, the police and military have continued to display kid gloves treatment towards such a notorious sect known for killing at will.
History shows what a misleading fantasy it is to place hope on Nigerian police or military to prevent the nefarious activities involving the Fulani. To understand whether punishing Fulani is doable, you need to ask why the entire police force hesitates over taking actions on any heinous crimes Fulani commits. It is wiser to begin to think of IGP’s statement as a hollow promise.
He is a bigoted Muslim as well as a northerner, both of which are key to understanding what really biases crime prevention and punishment in Nigeria, he was rewarded with the police Inspector General position (even though he was not the most qualified and senior officer) for crushing the Ombatse group for following their traditional forms of ancient worship which the Eggon ethnic group practice.
To further unravel the truth, it is necessary to ask why the government blatantly ignores any crisis linked to their security forces' brutal onslaughts against peaceful protesters. Potentially, these Fulani terrorists have politically organized-crime syndicates backing them. What holds the clue to why this Fulani crisis persists is seen in current regime’s language games. The northern politicians dominated regime carefully avoids describing the Fulani terrorists as whom they are in real sense. The vaguely-defined ‘bandits’ or criminals is deliberately chosen or bandied about, regrettably for a reason.
The lack of even-handedness in tackling violence is evidence of a divided Nigeria. In the cauldron of Nigeria’s highly polarised politics, which is the National assembly, this division is always in full display. No wonder Senator Abaribe is the only south-eastern politician who affirms the reality. His colleagues, he bravely argues, intentionally use language to mask the trend of increased violence associated with the Fulani herders within indigenous communities by omission or commission. Hence, the Senator famously likens the northern politicians’ avoidance in calling out the Fulani perpetrators to a doctor performing eye surgery while pepper was quite close by. In other words, Fulani terrorism is a grave urgency facing Nigeria.
The Fulani-dominated government has successfully used language to maximum effect. Predictably, the latest Wall Street Journal (WSJ) connects the terrorism in Nigeria to poverty and profiteering. Such is the power of the government’s narrative that even reputable media outlets are easily misled or bribed into focusing on a different agendum or both. Today, both domestic and international media now ignore asking why indigenous communities are historically massacred by these Fulani terrorists.
The WSJ report seems more than ready to overlook the fault of the Nigerian government itself. For starters, Fulani terrorists openly carry AK47s and so fuel religious tensions and no one questions them. Instead, the report notes that ransom money is the key driver of the weapons trade.
A man from northern Nigeria has been recently cited when saying that " to buy a gun in northern Nigeria is as easy and cheap as to buy a loaff of bread".
If an AK47 is so cheap, responsible journalism requires asking further questions. Are these guns handed out freely or subsidised by powerful agents? If so, why is that?
With all these, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), must have a compelling moral and legal reasons for the existence of the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Quite belatedly though, Governor Umahi of Ebonyi State is just waking up to the IPOB leader’s foresightedness.
No southerner doubts the Inspector General’s insistence that murderers shall be punished, however. All that someone needs as proof is the police and the military forces' willingness to use lethal force in the "predominantly Christians" Southeastern Nigeria where no one dares carrying an AK47 or any gun. The atrocious cruelties against civilians in the southeast go unchallenged because of the habit of taking the security bosses’ assurance at face value. Or more plausibly, those who matter do not care. For what else pushes military men for example, to put a gun in a woman’s private part or brutally murder people they took an oath to protect?
To further shine a bit of light on the inhumane treatment of IPOB protesters by the Buhari's regime security forces, Joseph Stalin's famous quote seem handy: “a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic.” Similarly, in the eyes of Nigerian government, if a Fulani is murdered, it is a tragedy and the Lekki and IPOB deaths are mere numbers. Very sad indeed!
Written by George E. Anukwe
Edited by Chibueze Daniel
For Family Writers Press International .
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