The killings in Sagamu
ONCE again, the nation's psyche was assaulted early this week with reports of mob violence erupting in Sagamu, Ogun State. At the end of two days of rioting, no fewer than three people lay dead, several buildings, including the palaces of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo and the Ewusi of Makun, Chief Afuape Okunlowo, were razed along with personal properties and dozens of motor vehicles. The Sagamu local government secretariat was also torched while a wife of the Akarigbo and her child sustained shock and other injuries which necessitated their being hospitalised.
Such scenario of communal violence has in the last few years, become too common; re-enacting itself with a disturbing regularity and national spread. Incidentally, it is the second such mayhem in Sagamu in three years, the first having occurred in July 1999 when an alleged killing of two women by traditional cult members ignited a breach of public peace that assumed ethnic colouration and eventually led to mass killings and destruction. This time around, the bloodlet was prompted by the killing, last Sunday morning of a young man called Kehinde Ogunjimi. He was suspected to have met his end in the hands of a vigilance group presumably keeping security watch over the town, against a reported siege by men of the underworld.
Upon citing his lifeless body, youths in the area who knew Ogunjimi apparently not as an armed robber, mobilised and staged the violent protest in which the casualties were recorded. Presumably, the chunk of the youths anger was directed at the mornach and the local council because of their perceived blessing and authority on the operations of the vigilance groups.
This current episode again raises the issue of safety of lives and property in our society. It further draws attention to the role of the police and traditional institutions, the emergence of vigilance group as well as the need for the sustenance of law and order. It was reported for instance that when a detachment of policemen drafted to stem the riot ran into the rampaging youths, they (the police) were overwhelmed and had to abandon their assignment. Indeed their palrol vehicle was set ablaze. The question is whether the police were really prepared, in terms of men and material, to curtail the protest. If they were not, who else has the duty of safeguarding lives and property? Whose responsibility is it to ensure law and order? Obviously, the failure of the police to perform their constitutional duties in this regard, specifically to diperse the mob and put a tight patrol in place, is largely contributory to the high level of destruction in Sagamu.
Police tardiness in safeguarding lives and property over the years is what has caused the loss of public confidence in that institution and led, eventually, to the formation of vigilance groups. Such groups cannot be an acceptable alternative to an efficient police force. They (vigilantes) are fraught with their own set of problems as their operations are lacking in procedures known to law and society. Often, an innocent person may be punished, as is the suspicion surrounding Ogunjimi's case. Members can also be hijacked for political purposes. Nonetheless, the contribution of vigilance groups to the curtailment of armed robbery cannot be totally ignored, particularly where the groups are organized and work closely with the police in the arrest of suspected hoodlums.
This is where local authorities come in. As the masterminds of such vigilance groups, the traditional institutions and councils must provide basic tutoring to the vigilantes in carrying out their tasks. They must be made to work with the police and use force only when violently provoked. They must be told to hand over suspects to the police rather than take the law into their own hands. Ultimately however, government must seriously address the ineptitude of the police. They should have the best training in crime prevention and detection. They must be imbued with adequate men and material to enable them discharge their duties. Only when this is done can we be spared of the kind of mayhem that has just taken place in Sagamu.
The public also needs to be sensitised about their role in maintaining law and order. If the killing of Ogunjimi is unjustified, it cannot be an excuse for the unleashing of violence as resulted in two other deaths and massive destruction of property. People simply must learn to respect the sanctity of human life and seek to pursue their grievances through due process. This task lies with the public as well as government. The seriousness and promptness of official response to the Sagamu mayhem will be a measure to indicate whether or not we are on the way to eradicating such unpleasantness in our communal life.