Insecurity in Nigeria : Facts that ought not to be ignored

Nigerians have expressed visible worries over the activities of criminals operating in commercial motorcycles, vehicles with tinted glasses, vehicles with foreign plate numbers, and vehicles without number plates.

They argue that most crimes in different parts of the country are committed through these motorcycles and vehicles and express surprise over the way the criminals beat the scrutiny of law enforcement agents along the road.

Innocent citizens who reside in Lagos, Ibadan, Benin City, Port Harcourt, Warri, Onitsha, Aba, Kaduna, Kano, and Abuja, among others, have continued to recount their tales of woe to whoever cared to listen.

Sadly, the law enforcement agents, saddled with the responsibility of ensuring law and order and the adherence to the road safety rules and regulations, have for long adopted a conspiratorial attitude, mainly because of the benefits that would accrue from aiding and abetting criminals.

Nigerians are now of the opinion that the laws of the land are either no longer functional or the law enforcement agencies are deliberately sabotaging the enforcement of the laws.

A victim of the worrisome state of insecurity in Ibadan, Nigeria, who spoke incognito, reveals his experience.

‘’There is a beer parlor opposite the Iyanganku Magistrate; it is among the several shops that share the same fence with the police barracks. A door inside the beer parlor leads into the barracks. Visit the beer parlor and observe those who patronize the beer parlor, and you will agree that those who break the law have the blessing of the persons whose statutory functions include the protection of lives and property, he stated.

The general feeling is that some criminally minded law enforcement agents make use of criminals as proxies in carrying out their statutory functions, which has resulted in the harassment, intimidation, and arrest of unsuspecting citizens.

Of worry is the adopted official status of lawlessness, indiscipline, and criminality in different parts of the country.

Indeed, illiteracy and ignorance have also contributed significantly to the scheme of things as presently constituted.

The mental psyche of millions of Nigerians has been dehumanized; this has resulted in unthinkable occurrences.

These occurrences have consumed a sizable chunk of those in charge.

The widespread, uninhibited prevalence of the lawless acts, to millions of Nigerians, is an indication that there is already a failure in leadership; with no visible remedy in sight for now.