ALUU FOUR KILLINGS: ARE
YOU IN SUPPORT OF JUNGLE JUSTICE?
Babalola Yusuf Abiola
In a society where majority of the people have lost faith and
confidence in the government of the land, what the citizens usually experience are
lawlessness, chaos, jungle justice and civil unrest. But the fact remains that
in a situation like that, only the innocent and the underprivileged suffer the
most.
The UNFORTUNATE FOUR that
were murdered in cold blood by the indigenes of Aluu community in Rivers state
were victims of circumstances of the inadequacies and corruption in the nation’s
security and legal system, because should these systems work effectively and
properly as they should and as we see and hear in some societies of the world, the
boys would not have been killed in such condemnable manner they were killed.
They rather would have been handed over to the relevant
security agencies for thorough investigation and prosecution if found guilty irrespective
of personality of parents or social stratification because in other societies,
the law is a respecter of nobody, not even their leaders or the billionaires.
But here in Nigeria, the reverse is the case as hardened
criminals are left off the hook without persecution while innocent Nigerians
who know little or nothing about an offence are put behind bars because they
have no godfather to speak for them.
In the case of the UNFORTUNATE
FOUR they were lynched and burnt to death by people that are supposed to
protect them, gone are those days when students are seen as the leaders of
tomorrow and are taken care of by their host communities.
When I was still in the polytechnic, though the school I
attended was one of the notorious institution in the South Western part of the
country (apologies to graduates and students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic,
Abeokuta), that whenever the name of the institution is mentioned anywhere in
the country we are seen and addressed as a cultist and prostitutes, still host
communities pampers, cherish and protect us.
I still remember the old days when I stay many days without
money or food stuffs in my half room apartment still the host communities
provided what I eat, drink without even knowing who my parents are but in Aluu
community the reverse was the case not because they are evil from the beginning
but because something must have been the reasons why they behave like that.
Am not holding brief for Aluu villagers neither am I
supporting them for what they have done to the innocent students but I will
like to ask few questions from my readers, has any one of you ever experienced
a robbery scene before or have you ever seen a place where cultist are dealing
with innocent students on campus before? If no then listen to this.
I was in the office discussing this Aluu incident with a
very senior colleague in the office and he said “if these boys are really
cultist I am totally in support of the punishment meted out to them” are you
surprised then wait for this bombshell “a fellow corps member was killed in
port Harcourt by suspected student cultists when I was on national service
because they wanted to dispossess him of his mobile phone and laptop.
This guy was not struggling any of his belongings with them
yet he was stabled on the neck and bled to death some days to his passing out,”
my senior colleague narrated.
For anybody who has witness a robbery scene before, you see
these guy brandishing dangerous weapons, beating, raping and most times killed
their victims even after dispossessing them of their belongings, am sure we
have not forgotten the case of the over 40 secondary school students that were
rapped early this year by yet to be identified armed robbers when the students
were returning from their school in the East.
Am not justifying what Aluu villagers did, but if the boys
are truly what they were called that serve them right!
This is my deduction about what happened to the students and
it is still a hypothesis because nobody knows what really happened, Nigerians
and the world were only being filled with conflicting reports about the
incident.
“Also, until Nigerians
are told the real account of the story, what led to the lynching, molestation
and burning, I pitch my tent with residents of Aluu Community”
Before a vigilante group could be formed in a community, it
means the state, and I mean the (police) cannot guarantee security of lives and
property in the said community any longer hence it is imperative for the
community leaders to safe guard the lives and properties of her subjects from
attacks.
Probably, men of the underworld have been given the residents’
sleepless night, so they found a way out by forming a vigilante group to secure
their property. Also, due to youthful exuberance, which youths specially
students don’t know where to direct them, thus direct it on the community
members so Aluu being a student residential area might have been under siege by
the student cult members.
When I was in the polytechnic I was opportune to see a video
on a friend laptop where a group of cult members invaded a student home and ask
a guy and his girlfriend to have sexual intercourse in their presence, they
even go to the extent of filming the act and send the clips to friends and
students on the campus, the lady’s offence was that he left one of their
members to date another student in the institution, the lady later left the
school when the shame was too much for her to bear.
What about the molestation of three innocent students of Tai
Solarin University of Education, Ogun State by cult members because a friend of
their victims was alleged to have slapped one of the cult members, the ladies
were kidnapped and taken to an uncompleted building where the ladies were
undressed, molested and the video taken were sent to the internet and all
around the university environments.
One of the three ladies could not withstand the humiliation she
received from the cultist for an offence she knows nothing about hence commit
suicide, the rest as they say is now a story because nothing was done to the
guys after the issue was reported to the police, though arrest were made in the
first instance but nothing concrete came out of the arrest.
So, in a society where impunity are not checked, jungle
justice are meant to happen because people no more have patience and believe in
the system, then I ask you these mind bugging questions, if the robbers that
raped the innocent secondary students on their way to Lagos were caught in the
act by residents of the community where the act was perpetuated, will they have
forgiven them or will the community have administer jungle justice on the
criminals? Or will the parents of the students ever wish the criminals well
with the trauma the children will have to live with till the end of their life.
What about a big brother in my community that have his
father killed in his presence by men of the underworld who visited their house,
will he ever wish the boys who perpetuated the act well and should those guys
be caught that night then will he wished to hand them over to the police or
administer jungle justice on them? Permit me to borrow a verse from the Old
Testament that says, an eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.
And lastly, the corps member that was killed in port
Harcourt some days to his passing out parade when he was being disposed of his
personal belongings he bought with his hard earned money, if you are his family
members and you caught the perpetrators in the act will you hand them over to
the police or administer jungle justice?
These and many more are questions begging for answers from
Nigerians am not in support of what Aluu community did to the promising young
chaps, neither am I in support of jungle justice or kangaroo trial but if the
government doesn’t restore confidence into the mind of the people in the society,
should corruption is not fought to stand still in the security system or the
society at large, Nigeria will soon experience another Aluu killings.
Also, until Nigerians are told the real account of the story,
what led to the lynching, molestation and burning, I pitch my tent with
residents of Aluu community,
