This is simply my greatest source of worry for more than sixteen months now. That the once peaceful Ochia Community in the west of Ohaji, Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State may not perpetually remain in crisis because justice was not given to certain persons who had resorted to civil processes rather than to jungle justice in seeking for an amicable resolution to the carnage that had befallen them. And when this happens, it is given another name.
I had restrained to write or talk about these issues before now because I had trusted the agencies of government charged with the responsibilities of identifying disputes, arresting defaulters and bringing them to court so as to give such people opportunities of fair hearing to do their jobs but that is far from coming. My anxiety is heightened when I hear personnel of the justice system remind us that those the courts hear their matter are those whom the courts see when ab initio, full directives have been received from the government, reliably that no further arrests should be entertained on the Ochia Awarra Ohaji matter. This is disgusting and totally unacceptable as the facts are clear that the alleged culprits of high standard crimes are known and walking about freely in Ochia community committing crimes with further intents to commit more under the watchful eyes of a responsible government.
Earlier in my report published in The Leader newspaper (Sunday, March 10, 2013), I had noted that Ochia Autonomous Community, recently carved out of the larger Awarra town in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State has been on hot waters since the 19th of January, 2013 and no one appears to care. What started as mere protest from a village youth election spread like wild fire culminating in its hijack by alleged cult boys who turned from breaking into peoples’ houses to looting of properties, stealing of farm produce and finally burning of houses. We also had incidences of rape, sexual harassments, abduction and regular threats to both life and property.
For about a year, since the matter went to the magistrate court and later transferred to the High Court which had proper jurisdiction to entertain it, the court had only started hearing the matter just a few days ago. Cases at the court on the Ochia case are separately listed for abduction, arson, burglary and armed robbery. Before now for several months, dates of sitting are given without formal rising bringing the complainants and their legal representatives to excessive expenses. Since then too, efforts had been made to see if other culprits could be rounded off and brought to court for interrogation without success as the police hierarchy in the divisions were working on a purported directive of the state government to stop further arrests on the matter.
Since my objections on the government directive was published, I had expected a reply from any organ of government to refute my claims and put me on the right but none came indicating that my fears are yet to begin. And as we read these lines, they are been played out in government’s action on the handling of the matter thereby bringing further frustration to certain persons that had lost their freedom of movement, their properties including buildings, access to their farmlands and crops planted in these farms etcetera not excluding telephone threats and other physical and mental harassments.
There is this Igbo adage which other tribes of the African continent could have which says that “onye ujo ji ndu ya na onye ike”, translated as that it is the coward, the weak who is holding the safety or survival of his life and that of the strong or the mighty. This is completely true of the Ochia case in relation to the law abiding and wise citizens that fled their ancestral homes to seek refuge in foreign domains because, had they fought back with the same force they were attacked by the home miscreants, real human fatalities would have been recorded. After all, no one person is monopoly of violence as its capacities are inherent in every human being when provoked to take action. The only incident of death was caused by the hooligans who were on reprisal to express how their might could mean right.
In the meantime, the people who had fled their homes as law abiding citizens had sought recourse through civil processes by reporting the matter to the police which led to certain arrests. Even though it was alleged that certain “innocent persons” were arrested in the mass exercise by the Imo Security Network, the said persons who were later released on the instructions of the government when investigated were indicted in one way or the other in the carnage that was suffered by certain persons in the community. They all belong to the same cult group. What happened later was that they walked home and regrouped to cause more carnage than was earlier reported. More houses were looted or destroyed, movements restricted and anybody seen not to openly identify with them had to drink the spill of their hot blood. People were compelled to swear before their shrines as to remain loyal to direction.
As these happened, responsible people from the community did not moot. The matter was further reported to the police division in the area that affirmed government’s instruction to stop arrests on the case. Shortly after, a committee of ten persons was set up by government to mediate and amicably negotiate settlement. Ordinarily, this is a criminal case which is exempted from alternative dispute resolution method but in spite of that, the peace loving team who had continued to corporate with government cued in. It was expected that the government should have simply used the committee to assess the damage suffered by the people and some arrangements for settlement put in place, some form of undertaking written by the alleged aggressors not to cause further trouble, security personnel posted to the town to avert further harassments and finally people allowed to get back and rebuild their homes and continue normal life but none of these came the way of the suffering people.
With all these happenings around the town and the government appear to be silent, the information as emanating from one of the personnels of the justice system on the 16th of May, 2014 that the court is only concerned with those that are brought to it for hearing is adding more salt to bleeding injury.
Section 214 of the Constitution (1999) set up the Police Force in Nigeria. They have an enabling act which specifically defined their roles and duties. Section 4 of the Police Act explicitly spelt out the statutory functions or objectives of the Nigeria Police which among other things include prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders , preservation of law and order, protection of life and property, enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are charged, etc.
Going by what the people have already gone through, it is evident either the government or the police or both are biased regarding the case in view. The purported government directive and the subsequent follow-up by the police not to effect further arrest of alleged perpetrators are not without reasons and we all see the effects. No doubt, government may have interests on the matter and I may not possess the required clout to stand on their way to realizing whatever intentions. What I am candidly sure about is that the preliminaries to this matter is not a struggle of supremacy between registered political parties as some people in some quarters had tried to drag it into. It was just a manifestation of jealousy at work and the people who had suffered aggression want justice which by Aristotle’s terms is to give them that which is their due.
If what we heard as emanating from the personnel of the justice system is admissible in evidence before any properly constituted court of law then it is tantamount to complete abdication of duty from the police, full expression of and confirmation of our fears that the powers that be that should help us get justice are biased. Knowing the open threats to life and property and being aware that the alleged perpetrators of the crimes that resulted in the carnage are still walking around freely, it will be a complete romance with death to return home without the agencies that should protect life and property on ground. We know the duties of the police to carry out their statutorily assigned roles are not discretionary. It is imperative in which case, I had felt that since they had failed in them that the court could have compelled them by invoking the prerogative order of mandamus more so, as the responsibility is of public nature.
I do not know if it is over-reacting to say that in our given circumstance, the police should have disobeyed the biased directive of government or otherwise. Where the police are constrained in the bid to do their work due to extreme challenges arising from poor funding or mismanagement of allocated funds, training and others, citizens who want things done in the interest of progress have assisted either through intelligence or capacity which had come through fund or donations and the people in our case scenario had done that on occasions.
If the dance steps we are watching is anything to go by and we see we have no further options and government wants to pardon the culprits in the crimes to effect some reconciliation, there are equally conditions to follow. The damaged buildings have to be rebuilt and properties lost replaced. Regarding a prerogative of mercy, the government could use her powers through the Attorney General as is constitutionally enshrined (cf. CFRN, 1999, s.174) after fulfilling that the interest of the people, interest of justice and prevention of the abuse of the legal process are satisfied. Even here, we equally recognize the complainant’s right to appeal.
But let us not over-labor the obvious by trying to bury some facts which are encapsulated in the suffering of the people whose properties were destroyed through the intentional acts of others. They have broken the laws of the land and there are commensurate sentences for the offences should they be convicted by a competent court. My interest here is that something ultra vires be not suggested.
I am not a violent person and do not advocate violence as a means to achieve any goal. That is left for vandals who should not be allowed to suppress that which is right.
Interests of government notwithstanding, democracy is of the people, for the people and with the people. Our government may have been elected on the platform of a particular political party but it is governance they are holding in trust on behalf of the people. They should not shoot themselves on the foot.
Everyone therefore should be careful to avoid grievous errors on this matter and to do that which the law has said regarding the case in review because no matter how long it takes and a dozen efforts to frustrate proper legal arrangements, someday, somehow, justice must prevail.
By Chima Offurum
