Following the emergence of four
different videos on the internet, showing women stripped and dehumanized for
committing one crime or another, the Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria
(NOPRIN), has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed
Adamu, to ensure the arrest of other perpetrators to serve as deterrent.
Speaking at Ikeja, the national
coordinator of NOPRIN, Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, applauded Adamu for having
arrested perpetrators in two of the videos, urging him to do more. The four
videos had different women, but each showed same action; women stripped and
tortured. Three of the incidents are believed to have happened in Edo State,
while the fourth occurred in Delta State.
One of the videos was that of a lady
called Favour. She was stripped and pepper inserted into her private parts for
allegedly stealing a phone. The second video showed a lady stripped, with her hands
ruthlessly tied behind. She was also accused of stealing a phone. She was beaten,
with her breasts repeatedly slapped. Shockingly, other women joined in
torturing and mocking her. The third was of a woman that allegedly stole a
child. Rather than hand her over the police, she was stripped and beaten. The
fourth was of a woman, later alleged to be mentally unstable; she was also
stripped and her hands and legs tied for daring to disrespect a politician.
Nwanguma said that cases of women
being debased was on the increased. While condemning these actions, he added: “In
recent times, we've watched with outrage viral videos of women stripped,
publicly paraded and subjected to dehumanizing and brutal treatment while being
video recorded.
“One of such videos of this barbaric
action was about a young woman in Edo accused of stealing a phone. She was
stripped, tied hands back, paraded and beaten by a gang of men with some women
in the crowd watching, cheering and joining in condemning the young woman.
A more recent one in Delta State was about a woman similarly tied hands and legs,
publicly paraded and viciously attacked, slapped, kicked, punched and hit with
wooden objects. This was on the orders of the SSA to the Delta State Governor
who alleged that the woman 'disrespected' him.
“Again, women were in the crowd
cheering as their fellow woman was being dehumanized. This action amounts to
sexual violence and torture. It's an act of discrimination based on gender and
reflects the prevalent traditional prejudice that discriminates against women,
regards them as inferior and seeks to subjugate them. These acts of barbarism must be punished and
deterred.”
He commends the IG for his prompt
response in ordering the arrest and persecution of perpetrators in at least two
of the cases. “This is important to send a clear message to the perpetrators and
others alike, them that it is not just barbaric but also a crime for people to
take laws into their hands in such or any other manner.”
Nwanguma said that Nigerians live-
or ought to be living- in a civilized and democratic society. According to him,
democracy was protected by the rule of law and any act that undermines the rule
of law threatens democracy. He stressed such actions against women, drags the
Nigerian society back to the Stone Age.
On the President's Shoot on
Sight Order.
This is appalling, to say the least.
The order is unlawful, reckless
and subversive of the Nigerian Constitution which guarantees rights to
life, presumption of innocence and due process.
The Constitution requires that
anybody suspected of or caught committing a crime should be arrested,
investigated and charged if there's credible evidence. The law didn't say shoot
on sight. Law also regulates use of firearms by law enforcement agencies. The
law is clear on the circumstances and how law enforcement can use firearms.
Law enforcement agents are not under
obligation to obey unlawful orders such as the one by the president. Obedience
to unlawful orders is also not an excuse to act contrary to law.
Law enforcement agents are called
upon to ignore the President's unfortunate shoot on sight order. They must be
guided by professionalsm and other principles of democratic policing.
Of course, snatching of ballot boxes
is a crime and law enforcement agents must apprehend any one or group involved
and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
The directive speaks to the value
the president places on human lives. Election is not an act of war
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