It is trite that main duty
of any government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. This it
achieves basically by ensuring that there is adequate security in the state
governed by it.
Few days ago, a man was
arrested with grenades and several rounds of ammunition at the radio house
Abuja and what was his defence? He was going to turn the ammunition to the
radio house and the ministers for reward instead of the police for fear of
being arrested and detained. Not suggesting that the man’s story is true but
isn’t it true that many citizens of Nigeria are afraid to report crimes to the
police for fear of being arrested and detained for same crime? Isn’t it also
true that when someone dies in a place, the residents flee speedily once they
hear the police are on their way? No one wants to become a suspect or be tagged
an accomplice just because of his patriotism.
According to Wikipedia, “witness
protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the
justice system, including the defendants and other clients, before, during and
after a trial, usually by the police. While a witness may only require
protection until the conclusion of a trial, some witnesses are provided with a
new identity and may live out the rest of their lives under government
protection”.
In most civilized
countries, when an eye witness comes forward and helps identify a criminal, he
is rewarded and even protected. Recently, the boko haram sect makes the news
headline on a daily basis and it is as if the sect is waxing stronger and
stronger and at some point they were termed faceless. Who said so? People know
their faces but are too terrified to come forward because they can’t tell their
fate once they do so.
Can it be denied that some
people who are supposed to be behind bars walk the streets of Nigeria as free
men and women because the witnesses were either so scared to come to court and
testify or because they were found dead or maimed before the next adjourned
date for hearing?
Most countries like
Canada, New Zealand, China, Ireland, Switzerland, Ukraine, United kingdom, United
states to mention but a few practice the witness protection system because they
know how important it is to their legal system.
Nigeria is at a point
where it needs to fight seriously for the security of its people. The
government is trying but it needs to do more, its best isn’t good enough. A
government without the governed is no government.
The witness protection
scheme might sound very expensive and unrealistic but nothing good comes easy
especially when it comes to life. A witness should be assured of his safety,
not just verbally but physically. Nigeria can afford it, we must not make it
very big and elaborate, we can start small. It is not a want but a necessity it
has become.
We are not just advocating
for the witness protection scheme, we can start by protection of good patriotic
Nigerian citizens(witnesses). It is their right too. The Nigerian police and
other security personnels must be re- oriented, we can’t keep having cases of
witnesses being harassed and turned suspects/accomplices or corpses while the
culprit walks free. Let proper investigation be carried out. When a witness
comes forward, also let the witness’s identity be protected, he doesn’t necessarily
have to be enrolled into the witness protection programme, he can be anonymous.
Also Nigerians can be
encouraged to be more patriotic through rewards no matter how little, they
should be recognized as it would encourage others to do same. Moreso proper
investigations should be carried out when a witness comes forward, it should
not be thrown aside as one of those things, no matter how ridiculous the story
might sound, it should be checked out because one can never be too sure. Also
law enforcement agencies should be provided with adequate resources to ensure
proper investigation and avoid cases where a crime is left un-investigated
because of lack of “mobilization fee” as they call it.
The witness protection
programme and protection of witnesses generally, is a must for Nigeria if we
must tackle the security issues facing us. Nigerian citizens are very patriotic
and would definitely be willing to testify once things are put in place. However,
it does not just fall on the government to do this, other affluent and well
meaning Nigerians can help. We can also sensitize people around us to do the
right thing. Report any suspicious activity, if you are afraid of going to the
police or other law enforcement agencies, you can contact a lawyer or a media
house, there are also phone numbers available for such reports. With one voice
we can take back our peace, our home and our pride.
Long live the Federal Republic
of Nigeria!
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