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Editorial
Friday, August 8, 2014
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
All the Facts, All the Sides A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER
KAFILAT OGBARA
MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO
BANKOLE MAKINDE
DEPUTY MD/CEO
SEYI FASUGBA
DAILY EDITOR
GBEMI OLUJOBI
SATURDAY EDITOR
KAYODE FASUA
ACTING EDITOR, SUNDAY
AYO OLESIN
GENERAL EDITOR
BEN MEMULETIWON
GENERAL EDITOR
DOZIE OKEBALAMA
COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD
CALLISTUS OKE
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
ISE-OLUWA IGE
ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF
FIDELIS LEMCHI OWOAMANAM
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, S/SOUTH
KING ODODORU
HEAD, GRAPHICS
Avoidable Zaria bloodbath
T
he obvious acrimonious relationship between the civilian population and the military in the country was on display in Zaria, Kaduna State on Friday July 25, when soldiers opened fire on members of the Sheik Ibrahim Zakzaky-led Shiite sect - the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, during its annual ‘Quds Day’ procession specially dedicated to the Palestinian people currently under intense Israeli attacks in Gaza Strip. Reports said a convoy of soldiers from the Zaria Army Depot ran out of patience waiting for the procession to end; and that it tried to force its way through the crowd. It was claimed that an unknown gunman in the crowd opened fire on the soldiers, who retaliated in like manner. By the time the dust settled, the sect lost 35 of its members, with over 40 others injured. Among the dead were three sons of Sheik Zakzaky. Coming at a time when the country is under the grip of inflamed tempers and heightened fear of the Boko Haram insurgent group, the Zaria bloodbath is, indeed, quite regrettable. This is particularly so because its leader, Zakzaky, has been an implacable enemy of the Boko Haram sect. He has been vociferous in his condemnation of the violent Islamist sect’s activities. It is, however, gratifying that President Goodluck Jonathan promptly
condemned the heinous act and ordered a probe of the violence. The President should, however, go a step further by sending a high powered delegation to Zakzaky to commiserate with his family and the sect over the big losses inflicted on them by the soldiers. Indeed, Jonathan should also order the immediate release of detained members of the sect. These steps will go a long way in relieving the grief of the faithful who lost their loved ones, and douse the tension building up across the Shiite Muslim community in the country. But urgent, diligent and independent investigation of the fracas should never be undermined. The defence by military authorities that the soldiers acted in selfdefence ‘after being fired upon’ is unconvincing, considering the casualty figures suffered by the Muslim sect. What happened appears a clear case of excessive application of force. Recurring cases of military unruliness do not help the cause of robust civilian-military relations in the country. Incessant military-civilian and paramilitary forces’-civilian clashes have been widening the gulf in the relationship between the civil populace and men and women in uniform. Early last month, for example, some irate soldiers went on rampage in Lagos, burned seven Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses and violated the rights
THE DEFENCE BY MILITARY AUTHORITIES THAT THE SOLDIERS ACTED IN SELF-DEFENCE
‘AFTER BEING FIRED UPON’ IS
UNCONVINCING of commuters because a soldier riding on a motorcycle inside a lane designated for BRT buses was crushed to death. It never occurred to the soldiers that their killed colleague infracted the law by riding on the dedicated lane. Also not to be forgotten was the invasion of Area C Police Command in Surulere, Lagos, by soldiers from Abalti Barracks in 2006, following a rift between a soldier and a policeman at a bus station. The soldiers razed parts of the police barracks and freed detained suspects. Some lives were equally lost in the process. In July 2005, Peter Edeh, a commercial motorcyclist was shot dead in Lagos by a naval officer for hitting his car from behind! Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the public humiliation of Miss Uzoma Okere in 2008 by the orderlies of another naval officer, who stripped and beat her for not quickly making way for
ON THIS DAY August 8, 1974 President Richard Nixon of the United States, in a nationwide television address, announced his resignation from office effective from noon the next day. Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the US, serving from 1969 to 1974. Nixon’s second term saw an Arab oil embargo, the resignation of his vice president, Spiro Agnew, and a continuing series of revelations about the ‘Watergate scandal’.
Letters tothe theEditor Editor Letters to
August 8, 2010 A flood-induced mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, killed more than 1,400 people. The floods began in early May 2010. About 424 people were killed by the end of June, including 42 from the Guizhou landslide; 277 more were killed and 147 others were missing in the first two weeks of July, bringing the death toll as of August 5 to 1,072. In total, the flooding and landslides killed at least 3,185 people in China by August 31.
their boss’ convoy to pass. In 2011, soldiers from 242 Recce Battalion, Badagry, likewise invaded Iberepo–Badagry Police Station over the death of their colleague. They burned down two squad vehicles and killed the Divisional Police Officer as well as the Divisional Crime Officer in the process. The list of impunity is endless. The uncivilized resort to self help by the military and paramilitary forces is doing grave damage to the image of the country and the nation’s law enforcement agencies. It constitutes a huge wedge between them and the civil populace. Therefore, the federal authorities should take precipitated measures for a massive re-orientation of members of the security forces. They need to understand their new roles in a democratic dispensation; and learn to conduct themselves in line with the tenets of the rule of law and respect for human rights. The forces need regular training and retraining aimed at refining and turning around their mob mentality. Everything possible should be done to rein in their unfounded claim of superiority. They are equipped, kitted and maintained by the state. Therefore, using their weapons against so-called ‘bloody civilians’ is unacceptable. A stop should be put to the impunity, now!
x August 8, 2013 A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta killed at least 31 people and injured scores of others. No group has taken responsibility for the bombing, but it is believed that the Taliban were behind the mayhem. A senior police officer, Fayaz Sumbal, noticed the suicide bomber before he blew himself up. Fayaz went and began searching the suicide bomber’s body (remains) after he had blown himself up.