Bolaji Aluko:
As you would suspect, I am very much in agreement with this legislative move by the Lagos State government. In fact, it was over due in coming. And I hope that after its third reading in the Lagos State House of Assembly, the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode would give it his assent.
Our positions on this issue, that is; yours and mine are not that contradictory of each other. We want the menace of kidnapping and armed robbery stopped through legislative and judiciary method in order to avoid extra-judiciary killings as an alternative. What should be added in the new Lagos State House of Assembly Legislative law is penalty against the use of indefinite postponement of hearings by crooked lawyers to frustrate cases which sometimes end in the robbery and kidnap accuse escaping justice through a judicial revolving door.
Also, the kind of judicial treatment enacted by Anambra State Government whereby, the proceeds and properties acquired by armed robbers and kidnappers through ransom payment are destroyed or taken over by the government should be emulated by other state governments hoping or wanting to end the menace of armed robbery and kidnapping.
Cheers.
Mazi KC Prince Asagwara
From: Mobolaji Aluko [mailto:alukome@gmail.com]
Sent: December-04-16 1:12 PM
To: Asagwara, Ken (MET)
Cc: africanworldforum@googlegroups.com ; NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com; Kalu; AfricanWorldForum@yahoogroups.com ; Dandalin siyasa; ezeana1@yahoo.com; peter opara; Rex Gomes; Stevek; The Cable; The Eagle Online; The Gazelle News.com; THE NATION NEWSPAPER; the Sun Newspaper; thecableng; TheCitizen; thegistnews@ymail.com; Thenationonlineng Info; thenigerianvoice.com; thepublicexpress@yahoo.com; thinklillies@gmail.com; Yahoo! Inc.; Yahoo! Inc.; USAAfrica Dialogue; naijaintellects; OmoOdua; ekiti ekitigroups; NaijaPolitics e-Group
Subject: Re: On the Matter of Mob Justice and Extra-Judicial Killings in Nigeria - Bolaji Aluko {Re: Kidnappers captured in Calabar stripped naked
Lagos Assembly - moving in the right direction towards dealing with kidnappers in Lagos........
THE CITIZEN
Lagos Assembly approves death penalty for kidnappers
November 29, 2016
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday approved death sentence for kidnappers whose victims died in their custody.
The approval followed the adoption of a report presented by Mrs Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Petitions, Human Rights and Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Tejuosho had presented the report of a Stakeholders meeting on a bill entitled; "A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping and for Other Connected Purposes".
The bill was sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa.
The bill prescribed life sentence to kidnappers, whose victims did not die in their custody.
The bill states that any person, who kidnaps, abducts, detains, captures or takes another person by any means or tricks with intent to demand ransom or do anything against his/her will, commits an offence, and liable on conviction to death sentence.
The bill, which criminalised attempt to kidnap, stipulated also life imprisonment for anyone who make attempt to kidnap another person.
Also, the bill is against false representation to release a kidnapped or abducted person. This attracts seven years imprisonment.
The lawmakers also approved 25 years imprisonment to whoever threatens to kidnap another person through phone call, e-mail, text message or any other means of communication.
The bill provides that any person, who knowingly or wilfully allows or permits his premises, building or a place or belonging to which he has control of, to be used for the purposes of keeping a person kidnapped is guilty of an offence under the law and liable to 14 years imprisonment without an option of fine.
The lawmakers amended some sections of the bill during the debate on the committee report before adoption.
The bill, aimed at ensuring zero tolerance for kidnapping, however, awaits third reading before it will be sent to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode for assent.
On Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 9:19 PM, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
Ken Asagwara:
Your write-up below merely re-confirms my correct reading of your earlier piece, that you consider "mob justice" appropriate once the charge of "kidnapping" is confirmed, even if such a confirmation is extra-judicial.
No, Ken, I beg to disagree. The only role of the public is to ARREST suspects if they have that opportunity, then DETAIN them until the Police arrive - or else take them to a Police station to be booked - following which they should be arraigned before the court of law for proper persecution and jailing/freeing as the case may be. Any other steps are extra-judicial.
I recognize your frustration, because of your charge of "round-tripping" of criminality in Nigeria. But that does not occur ONLY in kidnapping and petty crimes in Nigeria, but also in high crimes and misdemeanor - and corruption - in the highest corridors of power, where the same people get caught, use their money to regain freedom (allegedly with hired lawyers and judges, including Supreme ones), only to steal more. Should they be extra-judicially dealt with too?
Just asking....
I am also surprised that in another connection ("Amnesty International report of Nigeria army killing of 150 IPOB members"), you wrote the following rather eloquently:
QUOTE
In the western world you escaped to, citizens are free and allowed to organize and stage peaceful protests and demonstrations against any seat of government or authority without let or hindrance as is expected in a democratic and civilized society. Pray, how many times and how often have you see the military in the USA where you now live called out to shoot live bullets and or use tear gas to disperse citizens holding peaceful protests and demonstrations? Have you seen such happen in countries like UK, Canada, Germany, or even Russia? And how often have you seen the police authorities carelessly and senselessly shot into protesting and demonstrating crowds as a demonstration of State power and force? The Canadian province of Quebec where the French people have continuously agitated for their own separate country, rather than use the military and police to brutalized them, the State government have always found a way to appease them through dialogue that let them know how everyone (the French and other Canadians) are better off as citizens of one country, Canada. That is called statesmanship and democratic leadership and governance worthy of a civilized society and people. Well; it is Nigeria in question where brute force is the way to checkmate and keep folks in line. But for how long, though?
Some of you so-called educated and western exposed Nigerians in Diaspora put one to shame reading your parochial and tribalistic destructive views on issues and matters of human rights concern. Except when the shoe is put in the other foot do you ethnics see that something uncivil and untoward is happening. Then, you rise in wailing condemnation. Dastard hypocrites you all are. One thing is obvious though whether you believe it or not. No amount of bullets and tear gas ever stopped an idea whose time has come.
Mazi KC Prince Asagwara
UNQUOTE
Very passionate, but pray, how many times too have you seen in Canada where you live where kidnappers - and they exist - get the treatment that you recommend for kidnappers, and that you eschew for demonstrators in support of Biafra? Suppose the "shooters" of IPOB demonstrators have convinced themselves that treason is even a higher form of criminality than kidnapping, and hence they feel justified to treat such demonstrators extra-judicially, because they do not want them to "round-trip"?
Please think about that analogy.
Finally, the names of the three kidnappers are:
1. Ms. Jennifer Abel (the poor buxom lady)
2. Mr. Augustine Ani,
3. Mr. John Okonkwo
as well as two others
4. Mr. Nathaniel Ijabu
5. Mr. James Anika
Do those names ring a bell?
Here is their picture, fully clothed.
Do you know any of them?
I ask because knowing you and your persecution complex, now that you know your identity, you might begin to wonder whether ethnicity played any part in the speed at which extrajudicial action was meted on them. I even wonder when this picture was taken - before they became STRIPPED or afterwards.....
That is another factor in Nigeria - the Nigerian ethnic factor.
Finally, we must avoid mob justice and extra-judicial killings in Nigeria because they brutalize the citizens' psyche and ultimately FURTHER undermines the citizens' trust in the judicial system, which is ALREADY at a low ebb. The public must know its proper role in the prevention and detection and arrest of criminals;; the Police must be properly trained to secure crime scenes and prosecute criminals, and the public must use watchdogs to ensure that criminals are not given round-tripping tickets. .
I will stop there before you start to cry into your "bia bia".... :-)
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
Police rescue thieves from mob attack in C'River
November 25, 2016
Mudiaga Affe, Calabar
The Cross River State Police Command on Thursday paraded five robbery suspects who allegedly specialised in stealing money and other items from members of the public.
The command said three, out of the five paraded suspects, were rescued by the police from being lynched by angry mobs after they stole N250,000 from a victim along Parliamentary Road in Calabar.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, at the command's headquarters in Calabar, said the suspects were rescued after a distress call from concerned residents.
Ugbo said the police immediately rushed to the scene to rescue the suspects from being lynched.
She said the three suspects got into trouble after they robbed one Otamba Gabby of N250,000.
She explained that the suspects, Augustine Ani, John Okonkwo and Jennifer Abel, stood in front of the First Bank branch on Marian Road to monitor those who came out with large sums of money.
"On November 23, one Otamba Gabby went to the bank to withdraw the sum of N250,000. He boarded a taxi when he came out.
"However, he did not know that the occupants of the taxi were fraudsters. While in the taxi, he noticed that the money with him has been turned into pieces of papers that were neatly cut to the size of naira notes.
"He subsequently raised the alarm which attracted members of the public who got hold of them. They were about being lynched before the intervention of the police patrol team which rescued them. One blue Volkswagen with number plate, Abia ACH 564LU, and three bundles of papers cut to the size of naira notes were recovered.
"The suspects will soon be charged to court. The war against crime and criminality in the state is a continuous process that requires the collaborative efforts of all."
Ugbo also said the two other suspects, identified as Nathaniel Ijabu and James Anika, were arrested on November 21 after they robbed an expatriate on Murtala Muhammed Highway in Calabar. She said the expatriate was robbed at the Bebobsco area of Calabar.
"On November 21, an expatriate in Calabar was attacked by a group of armed boys. The bad boys collected his Samsung G7 Galaxy phone, a wallet containing one dollar and Nokia phone. The suspects have confessed to the crime and investigation is still ongoing," she said.
_____________________________
___________________________
On Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 8:21 PM, Asagwara, Ken (MET) <Ken.Asagwara@gov.mb.ca> wrote:
Bolaji Aluko:
I have just read your counter to my position on this society destructive issue of kidnappers and the kidnapped. I could not help but wonder if you read these lines of my argument before you reached the conclusions you outlined in counter to mine? You argued as if I want every accused kidnapper(s) mob-lynched. No, that is not my position. These are the crux of my stated position:
"I would rather say, if they are truly kidnappers, they deserve any treatment the public and police gave to them."
"Like I said, if they in the photos below went on a kidnapping venture and got caught, they had it coming and must pay the price. They are lucky they were not brutalized and set ablaze. Will have been good riddance to a bunch of rubbish human beings."
Bolaji, our country's judicial system and police force seem to have a way of letting known and identified kidnappers and armed robber escape justice. They recycle and return to their heart-wrenching destructive means of making livelihood. That should not be. There are times the society (citizens) help the law enforcement agencies get rid of deviants that terrorise law abiding folks. Therefore, I maintain that if one is caught in the act of kidnapping knowing the obvious consequences for the kidnapped, if the citizens take the law into their hands to get rid of the kidnappers and robbers, so be it. You and whomever can call it "mob justice". I call it the cleansing of society of bad eggs by the citizens.
In your own words, there you have it.
Mazi KC Prince Asagwara
From: africanworldforum@
googlegroups.com [mailto:africanworldforum@googlegroups.com ] On Behalf Of Mobolaji Aluko
Sent: November-25-16 12:19 AM
To: africanworldforum@googlegroups.com
Cc: NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com; Kalu; AfricanWorldForum@yahoogroups.com ; Dandalin siyasa; ezeana1@yahoo.com; peter opara; Rex Gomes; Stevek; The Cable; The Eagle Online; The Gazelle News.com; THE NATION NEWSPAPER; the Sun Newspaper; thecableng; TheCitizen; thegistnews@ymail.com; Thenationonlineng Info; thenigerianvoice.com; thepublicexpress@yahoo.com; thinklillies@gmail.com; Yahoo! Inc.; Yahoo! Inc.
Subject: Re: [africanworldforum] ||NaijaObserver|| Kidnappers captured in Calabar stripped naked
Ken Asagwara:
I am with Dr. KIK on this one.
What you propose - because you consider the crime of kidnapping particularly heinous - is jungle justice. WhateVer the crime, there must be four broad PrinciPles:
(1) the crime must be fiRmly established, so that you are not mistaking, for example, a family dispute for a kidnapping;
(2) the criminals must be firmly established, so that no one is wrongly accused (ie an innocent person or bystander is not swept among criminals and victimized);
(3) the proven criminals are assigned their proper sanctions, from time served to even death (because in a crime invariably, not all the "criminals" are guilty with the same weight. There are godfathers/masterminds, trigger pullers, and accessories before and after the fact, etc)
(4) the sanctions are applied by the appropriate persons, eg police, judges, jailers, Executioners, ie not by a mob, which may be prone to violate the earlier three principles.
So as not to violate your sensibilities, I have not included the four modern principles of
(1) pre-knowledge of criminality of the act before commission;
(2). Right to counsel and fair trial before a learned judge and/or jury of peers; and
(3) Right of appeal
Take any of the persons in the pictures published, for example the woman. You never know whether she was forced into this particular incident by one of the men, or she Just hitched a ride with them that one day, only to be caught with them. She would then be punished as a kidnapper when her only crime was asking for and getting a ride with people that she did not know as kidnappers. But you took a look at her portly self, and concluded right away that it was a product of kidnapping?
Haba!
I support convicted kidnappers being jailed for life. Although I do not advocate the death penalty, I would not be an advocate against death penalty imposed on kidnappers whose victims die or are permanently maimed in the process.
But I am opposed to mob justice against kidnappers and other criminals, even if the penalty that would be meted to the convicted criminal is what the mob metes out, eg death. The scope for error and the brutalization of society are compelling reasons against mob justice.
So be properly guided, Ken Asagwara.
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
On Thursday, November 24, 2016, Asagwara, Ken (MET) <Ken.Asagwara@gov.mb.ca> wrote:
Oga Dr Kalu Idika Kalu:
I would rather say, if they are truly kidnappers, they deserve any treatment the public and police gave to them. They are lucky to have escaped lynching and being set ablaze. I want to believe you know how very inhuman the kidnappers treat their captives? Most kidnapped women are brutally gang-raped; men are brutalised, and often kidnapped victims are killed after the kidnappers had receive millions of Naira as ransom.
A few months ago, we read how the kidnapping of an Abuja based school proprietress was organized by her driver whom she had over the years, been kind to. The driver and his group gang-raped and brutalized her; collected as was reported N10m from her family and in the end, they stripped her naked, tied her up and buried her alive. When they were caught, they were made to exhume her body and carry it on their heads. Seeing the photos of what they did to the poor woman left those of us that saw them teary-eyed. They should have been lynched. Look at the photos of the caught kidnapper below and tell us they are among the starving Nigerians. All of them look very well fed perhaps, from kidnap ransom monies. This time, their cups got full and anyone feeling sorry for them is missing the point. If, "These pictures are a blot on us all. ." per your take, what have you got to say to the kidnapped victims often brutalized, raped, forced to pay millions in ransom and most often, killed by their kidnappers to escape being caught and being brought to justice?
Especially now that the Christmas season is around, they, kidnappers are afield. Citizens and the police should do all within their power to stop them. To be kidnapped is to take away one's freedom of liberty to live without hindrance. Like I said, if they in the photos below went on a kidnapping venture and got caught, they had it coming and must pay the price. They are lucky they were not brutalized and set ablaze. Will have been good riddance to a bunch of rubbish human beings.
Mazi KC Prince Asagwara
------------------------------
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Kidnappers from Delta and Enugu state arrested in Calabar, stripped naked
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From: 'Kalu' via AfricanWorldForum [mailto:africanworldforum@googlegroups.com ]
Sent: November-24-16 8:15 AM
To: NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com
Cc: AfricanworldF; AfricanWorldForum@yahoogroups.com ; Dandalin siyasa; ezeana1@yahoo.com; peter opara; Rex Gomes; Stevek; The Cable; The Eagle Online; The Gazelle News.com; THE NATION NEWSPAPER; the Sun Newspaper; thecableng; TheCitizen; thegistnews@ymail.com; Thenationonlineng Info; thenigerianvoice.com; thepublicexpress@yahoo.com; thinklillies@gmail.com; Yahoo! Inc.; Yahoo! Inc.
Subject: [africanworldforum] Re: ||NaijaObserver|| Kidnappers captured in Calabar stripped naked
WHERE ARE POLICE AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT. .HELP for the INNOCENT, DUE PROCESS for the GUILTY!
These pictures are a blot on us all. . this is 2016 for Christ' sake!!
Dr Kalu Idika Kalu
On 24 Nov 2016, at 2:41 PM, vincent modebelu vin_modebelu@yahoo.com [NaijaObserver] <NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Kidnappers allegedly from Delta and Enugu state stormed Calabar for operations on Wednesday November 23. Luck however ran out of them as they were apprehended by residents of Calabar with one of their victim. They kidnappers were stripped naked.Kidnappers allegedly from Delta and Enugu state stormed Calabar for operations on Wednesday November 23. Luck however ran out of them as they were apprehended by residents of Calabar with one of their victim. They kidnappers were stripped naked.
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