Last week Wednesday (April 15, 2020) the enforcement of the Coronavirus lockdowns in some states, especially Anambra, Ebonyi, Delta and Kaduna turned bloody, with at least 21 people shot dead.
Media analysts quickly observed that this death toll in one day of bizarre law enforcement almost doubled the number of deaths linked to the pandemic itself (13) since February 24, 2020 when an Italian brought the index case to Lagos.
The main problem the nation faces in our efforts to arrest the spread of the virus is that a lot of Nigerians are not cooperating enough with government and other stakeholders leading the fight.
In spite of the heavy bombardment of sensitisation by governments at all levels, the media, religious leaders, traditional rulers, celebrities and community leaders, misguided Nigerians have continued to take the threat of the pandemic with levity. They fail to grasp the potentials of a catastrophic explosion.
Another reason for this recalcitrance is poverty. Nigeria, with over one hundred million of its people under the poverty line, is regarded as the poverty capital of the world.
A lot of people earn their living through daily-paid jobs, and most of them do not have bank accounts, let alone savings for the rainy day.
The prolonged lockdown which was extended by the President last week Monday plunged many families into hunger and desperation, especially as the palliatives being provided by the various governments are just like droplets of water in an ocean.
The law-enforcement agencies have performed above average in keeping unauthorised persons from moving freely, though the same cannot be said for their performance in keeping criminals at bay.
Nothing, however, can justify the killing of 21 Nigerians in one day while our common enemy – COVID-19 – took almost two months to take 13 lives.
The brutal conduct of some of our law enforcement agents are portraying them as being more of the “enemy” than the pandemic is. That is unacceptable.
Apart from the killings, the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, NHRC, issued a report last week cataloguing human rights abuses by the security agencies. These include 33 tortures, 19 seizures of property and 13 other incidents.
These killings and violations were linked to the Police, the Army, Road Safety and the Correctional Services.
We call on the President and the Governors to wade into this matter and do everything possible to rein-in impunity, corruption and high-handedness by the security services. The killings should be investigated and followed up.
Embattled Nigerians cannot afford two enemies at once. We also urge all Nigerians to respect the “Stay at Home” orders issued by the President and the Governors.
We must cooperate with the law enforcement agencies. They are on the roads and highways, toiling and sweating to protect us.
