By Our Correspondent

Blames Police chiefs for high crime rate

As reoccurring of jungle justices  hit the former Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, Lagos in recent time, where a seven  (7) years old boy in Badagry axis of the State was murdered in a cold blooded manner over alleged stealing of Garri ,

Sequel to the gruesome murder of a seven years old boy who was accused of allegedly stealing gari  by angry mobs in the Badagry axis of Lagos, a group under the aegis of Save Lagos Group (SLG) has strongly condemned the  act of jungle justices meted out to some Nigerians  which were accused of stealing  one item or the other  as a result of illegal alarm always raised by some marauders in the street of  Lagos.

The group therefore urged the government at all levels to ensure the protection of innocent Nigerians according to the Constitution as no law of the land has given power to any citizen to terminate the  life of fellow citizen at will.

The group also faulted the security mechanism management of the new Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2 which comprises of Lagos and Ogun States, Mr. Kayode Cornelius Aderanti and Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni which made the high profile of criminal activities, including jungle justices to be rampant in the shore of the State presently, calling for immediate arrest of the perpetrators of the dastard and evil act by the men of Nigeria Police and bringing them to justice.

It however called on the authority  of Security  operatives in the Country, particularly, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to set up an independent Panel of Enquiry to investigate the rationale behind the geometric increase of the crime rates under the watch of current Security Chiefs in the State.

The group lament the increase of crime despite huge task payers money  being spent by the State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode  to give incentives to the Nigeria Police and other security agents in the State.

They group recalled that  the tenure of  AIG Kayode Aderanti  as the Lagos State Police Commissioner in years  back witnessed high profile crime rates until Aderanti was redeployed from the State  that  the crime rates were reduced to the barest minimum then.

Speaking on the mind-boggling development, in a statement signed by the Groups Convener and Director, Media and Strategy, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman and Messer Olaolu Oladipo respectively, which a copy was made available to newsmen on Thursday, maintained that the head of security operatives in the State should be held responsible for this evil acts, for not living up to their constitutional duties of protecting the lives and property of the citizenry.

They advised Nigerians to stop taking laws into their hands in any matter, even at the point of provocation, insisting that the killers of the young Nigerian had violated his fundamental human rights to life as stipulated by the Section 33&34 of the amended 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, cautioning the Security agents in the State to stop encouraging the lawlessness of the Land grabbers and spectators which threaten the peaceful co-existence of the State.

They described the gruesome murder of the innocent Nigerian child as satanic, heartless, inhuman, evil, ungodly, illegal, abomination, anathema, unconstitutional and crime against God and humanity which should not be allowed to go uninvestigated by the Police authority.

They supported their argument with the Biblical position in Genesis Chapter 9 vs. 6 that says I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man; by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image, adding that the Holy Quran, Surathul Nizah chapter 4 vs. 93 that Allah did not spare anybody that deliberately terminated the life of fellow human being from capital punishment of death in return.

They rejected the position of the police authority in the State through its spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP) that the State Police Command could not ascertain where the incident occurred in the Badagry axis of the State, urging the Police to use intelligent mechanism  to ensure that the killers of the innocent young boy were fish out within the shortest possible time by following  the section 316 to 324 of the criminal  code cap;C38 with case and materials extras, laws of the federation 2004/2010 including questions and answers for police colleges act on this matter of national importance.

It declared that the killers of the seven (7) year old boy had committed offence contrary to section 316 to 324 of the criminal code, Laws of the Federation, 2004, noting that the matter was pure murder case which anybody who committed such an offence should bag death penalty, even, manslaughter offence attracted life imprisonment as stipulated by the section 325 of the Criminal code Act, 2004.

It will be recalled that the video of a teenage boy allegedly lynched and set ablaze in Lagos State recently over alleged stealing of Garri had caused stir on social media with Nigerians demanding for the immediate prosecution of his killers