Addressing The Vigilante Question There is need to regulate the activities of vigilante groups At about 1.00am on July 7, 2013, members of the Vigilante Service of Ogun State (VSO) stormed a house on Sorinola Avenue, Oriyanrin, Abeokuta, and ordered the residents to open the gate to enable the team arrest some suspected robbers believed to be hiding in the compound. By the time they were done, Raji Moruf (29), a student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, and Akeem Usman (32), an employee of a telecommunication company who reportedly opened the gate for the vigilante group, were lying in the pool of their blood. As it would turn out, their death was hinged on "mistaken identity". Exactly two weeks later on July 21 at about 3pm, 25-year-old Ifechukwu Gabriel Nwainokpor, a fresh graduate of Geology and Mining at the Delta State University, and his friend, Kazeem, were lynched to death by members of another vigilante group in Badagry, Lagos State. Both were accosted and labelled "suspects" by members of the group while returning home after a visit to a friend. Media reports said they were forcibly taken to the house of the leader of the group, who handcuffed and threatened them with a locally made short gun. As he tried to return the short gun into its pouch, he accidentally shot himself. Irked by the death of their leader, members of the vigilante group present descended on the two young men who were also beaten to death. These are two of the numerous cases of wanton killings by vigilante groups across the country. Even though such killings dominate headlines almost on a daily basis, not much seemed to have been done to arrest this alarming trend. We therefore call on government to urgently address this dangerous trend. It is obvious that there is a clear connection between the worsening security situation in the country and the emergence and proliferation of vigilante groups. While we believe that the primary responsibility of a state is the protection of lives and property--a responsibility that is discharged by institutions like the police, the military, paramilitary services, and the intelligence community--it becomes a tragedy when this sacred duty is outsourced to unregulated, ill-trained, poorly-equipped and uncoordinated groups as it obtains today in most towns across the country. We are not opposed to efforts by communities to protect themselves against violent hoodlums and night marauders, or for the existence of vigilante groups as part of efforts to tackle the challenging security situation in the country. However, we are of the view that if vigilante groups would be incorporated into our internal security framework, then their activities must be properly regulated. Also, their right to bear arms, even if such arms are locally made, must be critically reviewed. A situation where known touts and confirmed drug addicts bear arms at night as members of vigilante groups is unacceptable. Not only are they a threat to law-abiding citizens, they also pose serious threat to public peace. In checking this ugly trend, we could also borrow a leaf from other climes where the existence of neighbourhood watch is basically to serve as the third eye which gives information to the police on unusual activities and suspicious faces in their neighbourhood. In those societies, there is a close synergy between the neighbourhood watch and the security agencies, with the former helping to gather intelligence in areas where the latter lack the required manpower and resources. And on occasions when they assist in nabbing suspected criminals, such suspects are promptly handed over to the police for proper investigation and possible prosecution. We therefore call on government to properly define the role of vigilante groups in our community policing system and properly regulate their activities, including keeping proper documentation and conducting background checks on their members. We believe that these are the ways the spate of tragic killings by members of vigilante groups could be effectively checked. #Thisday Editorial
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:40:22 +0000
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