Nigeria: A Robbery ReTweeted and Reported

A robbery ReTweeted

I was engaged on one of my usual late night Twitter conversations when a ReTweet appeared announcing a robbery taking place at a Lagos suburb address, it appeared desperate – in fact, any robbery in Lagos is desperately a matter of life and death.

As I experienced some 23 years ago, we were at the mercy of callous and ruthless armed men who went about in groups of 10 or more and had no compunction about shooting any of their victims, if it so caught their fancy.

One could well imagine either the victim sending the Tweet or someone witnessing the event from somewhere else; in either case, it would appear the person could not call the police.

We conversed about getting the phone numbers to the police stations and opined about the non-availability of toll-free easy-to-remember numbers; in the end we obtained a number of 11-digit phone numbers shared on Twitter and eventually some easy-to-remember toll-free numbers 767 & 999 that could be called within Lagos that were found to be working.

Call from anywhere

Meanwhile, one of my Twitter conversants called the police and reported the incident, they at first did not know the address but after a clearer description of the location they said they will “detail” (Nigerianese for instruct) to attend to the situation.

This was thanks to a Google search for the address and the indication of some landmarks. It goes without saying that our Nigerian cities need to have postcode identification amongst other signifiers to help agencies locate places easily.

Living in the Netherlands, I first felt I would not be taken seriously if I called but I eventually did call the Lagos Police Emergency Number which was 002347055462708.

Acting on it already

Someone at the station picked up the phone and I introduced myself as a caller from Holland, which surprised them as I gave them the information that there was a robbery reported on the Internet that needed attending to.

I was passed on to another officer who first asked if I had called earlier, I hadn’t; but I was informed, it transpired they had already been called (this, I think would be the call they received earlier), they now knew where the problem was and he told me the police official in charge of that location had been detailed to visit the address with a troop of police officers.

They seemed to be confident of what they were doing and I thanked them for seeing to the situation.

One can only hope that despite the trauma of the victims of the robbery the robbers do get caught and the victims are OK after their ordeal.

Usefulness of social media

For those who have pooh-poohed the usefulness of Twitter for anything especially in Nigeria, I would hope that this inspires people of the possibilities; starting with the presence of mind to Tweet an event through to the interest of others to act on the information received with the hope that something can be done.

In this case, I believe the police received at least two phone calls about an event and if anything, they would have been geared up to deal with the situation, promptly and with dispatch.

With the elections coming up in April 2011, every social media tool along with mobile phones should be employed in ensuring we have free, fair, transparent and honest elections – it will only happen if we all get involved, the people on the ground reporting and others disseminating and sharing the detail with others who can act on the situation or crisis.

With regards to the elections you need to go to ReVoDa | How it works we have the tools, it is time to use them to our best advantage especially in sticky situations.

Policing Adedibu and Nigerian Crime

Every Nigerian a lawyer

Maybe, and maybe just, the culture of impunity is being visited by an atmosphere of intolerance, but before I pack my bags and head for the sunny tropical climes of Nigeria, I should read the subtext and understand the situation better.

Nigeria happens to be one place where lawyers would never be caught unemployed, there is always a point of law being cited by someone for something, that is if everyone does not think they have some legal insight into the workings of what I might be tempted to call black jurisprudence just from the fact that Nigeria is the most populous black country in the world.

Apparently, there is a “Security for Keeping the Peace for Good Behaviour”, in Section 88 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code which reads, “Whenever a court or Justice of the Peace is informed that any person is likely to commit a breach of the peace or to disturb the public peace or to do any illegal act which may probably cause a breach of the peace or disturb the public peace, the court of Justice may issue a summons requiring that person to attend before a court to execute a bond with or without sureties for keeping the peace or refraining from illegal acts likely to disturb the public peace for any period not exceeding one year or to show cause why he should not execute such bond.”

Raking in the miscreants

It appears it is quite a nice piece of legislation if used with fairness and objectivity whilst it can be a dragnet to rake in certain politicians who have become a law unto themselves.

One such politician is Chief Lamidi Adedibu, the Grand Political Thug of Ibadan who has become a thorn in the side of peace and due political process in his sphere of influence which happens to unfortunately extend beyond the walls of his compound and affect the whole city of Ibadan and the political representation of Oyo State.

With his coterie of “brigands” and loyalists, he was in Abuja the Federal Capital and was invited for a chat to the Acting Inspector General of Police in what he thought was a courtesy visit which ended up with him being arraigned before a court and bound to keep the peace for a year based on the suspicion that he could cause trouble.

No man above the law

The President it appears had become fed-up of the situation where Chief Adedibu had constituted a state-within-a-state with an army of thugs whose payment by food morsels has fueled menace, illegality, thuggery, corruption and impunity – his wings needed clipping and this event is now being seen as the triumph of the rule of law in Nigeria.

It is a small step, but something in the right direction and before we get caught up in sympathy for the gerontocrat who clocked 80 a few weeks ago; maybe the that reality no man is untouchable is as sobering as it gets – Chief Adedibu has since been bailed.

100 days of shooting down

This is one type of suspect who has walked away, the selfsame acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, celebrated a 100 days of acting in his capacity as Nigeria’s police chief and I wonder he has not yet been given a substantive appointment.

He appeared at a press conference with 50 other policemen who apparently had been maintaining strict law and order in the North-Eastern Nigeria by exterminating 785 suspected armed robbers and thereby bringing down the crime rate in that region.

Impressive as these figures seem, it does make one worry about a few things; I was not aware there was such a serious crime problem in that region of Nigeria, though one can say that South-Western Nigeria suffers most from violent crime though figures have not been provided to highlight the situation there.

Arrests and deaths

In the same time 1,600 have been arrested and charged whilst the police have suffered 62 fatalities in their run-ins with suspected armed robbers.

Whilst many might be concerned that suspected armed robbers have been killed rather than arrested to follow the due course of justice, I would not be surprised if the reason why some have been arrested as been due to the fact that they had run out of ammunition during battles with the police or had suffered serious injury as to be incapacitated.

Desperate and indiscriminate

Armed robbers in situations like that are desperate, merciless and indiscriminate, this shows in the almost 10% police loss of life for armed robbers killed. It is however more crucial not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time because certain of those suspected might not necessarily have been guilty of anything.

Meanwhile, 28 policemen have been dismissed from the force for acts of corruption, they might just join the ranks of armed robbers since might just know how the police operate when chasing down their quarry.

Now, this all sounds like a welcome development though I remember when some 10 years ago as I prepared to visit Nigeria, I received a DHL message from my mother – it was basically an order – whatever I did, I was not to visit Nigeria, I wonder what informed that decision.

References

Adedibu arrested and arraigned

Police arraign Adedibu

Hundreds of Nigerian robbers shot

Hutu chikin Nigeria? Inaa!

Does it really matter anymore?

This represents the unacceptable state of affairs in Nigeria, the issue of safety and security. Having not visited Nigeria for a long time, I have always been anxious for people who return with such regularity as if they are taking a walk in the park.

Obviously, many of these people have quite well laid out plans for their arrival, transportation and safety when sojourning in the country, but I am just beside myself with terrifying incapacitation when criminals run riot and despatch people with armed efficiency without any consideration for life or property.

Now, people do live in Nigeria - 140 million at last count - and are probably inured or resigned to the fact that things are just the way they are in Nigeria - I suspect this is a problem mainly with large citties - I have family in that country and I exercise confidence that they are all well and secure in the hands of Him who watches over all.

They came, they terrified and they left

I did experience the brutal reality of armed robbers entering my home, threatening us with guns and the possibility of getting shot whilst they ransacked our home and made off with every significant material possession.

They calmly executed their mission without emotion apart from when the "sergeant" asked the "major" to shoot us and he said our having cooperated meant that we would be spared - my uncle got kicked about a bit, but thankfully none of us came to any physical harm.

The emotional and mental harm is a different thing; it was not till 3 hours after the event that we found we could not even stand on two feet without a swaying stagger, we were traumatised and in serious shock - none sought treatment, we just carried on with our lives, grateful we could recount the story - my subject says the same thing 19 years on, "It was like a movie but I thank God I'm alive to tell the story"

That was Nigeria, the last and lasting image of Nigeria before I returned to Europe.

VGC - a shattered illusion

It was only a few weeks ago when I asked what VGC meant, apparently it is supposed to be some sophisticated gated community in Lagos where everything was probably more American or European than America or Europe itself - A Paradise by the Lagoon, probably the euphemism for titan mosquito territory, namely, Victoria Garden City.

A young man returns to Nigeria to honour his country with his football talent from his comfort zone in Europe, after the match, he stops over to fill his car with petrol in VGC and gets attacked by "armed robbers", who shoot at his car indiscriminately harming his friend.

"Armed robbers", well, maybe not really, because they did not make away with the car, despite having such massive fire-power, probably hired killers - those are even too dangerous to describe - no entreaty could deliver you from the demonic possession of those who get paid to take life, here, you can only call on a Higher Power as your life flashes before you like a movie in slow motion.

The crab complex

This reminds me of an interesting observation of a friend about fisheries, you never have to put a lid on a bucket full of crabs, every crab trying to escape is always pulled back by those still sitting in the bucket.

It is an appalling analogy, but it would take a number of initiatives to take a stand against criminality in Nigeria, and it has to start with tempering the inordinate quest for wealth to the exclusion of any matter of principle; the purging of our crime prevention infrastructure; an anti-graft agency that pursues seemingly respectable mega-thieves in positions of great influence and prosecutes them objectively to a just conclusion and the revival of the concepts of that old War Against Indiscipline.

Without this, the crab-complex would thrive, each drive to improve the country gets thwarted by the other crabs - elite and masses - who cannot bear to see Nigerian in any light but the almost, maybe, probably and trying circumstance.

The comfortably complacent

I expect reactions; things are not all that bad and I am just being hysterical - well, but we build houses like maximum security prisons and traverse territories that contrast our amazing lives of opulence with proximity abject poverty, then expect things to be just so right.

The time-frame is just recent weeks and four international footballers have been attacked in Lagos - Obafemi Martins, of English side Newcastle, Benjamin Onwuachi, of Greek side Ionikos, Femi Ajilore, of Danish club Midtjylland as well as Romania-based Ifeanyi Emeghara - these are the ones that made the news, talk less of everyday Nigerians.

This is completely unacceptable and it feeds the perception of Nigeria being a sort of failed state.

Let him speak

I conclude this piece by offering what Obafemi Martins said, verbatim, courtesy of BBC News.

"A lot of things are wrong with the system in Nigeria and when you are helpless you need to go and hide somewhere,".

"I was born in Lagos, I am a Lagosian but when I don't feel safe in my hometown then something must be wrong.

"It's a great thing to play for your country, put smiles on the faces of people and also feel safe among your family and fans.

"But when the situation gets out of hand, I don't think coming home is something I can contemplate."

Shikenan! - Hutu chikin Nigeria? Inaa! (Enough said! Holidays in Nigeria? Don't think so - Hausa)