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“Do you know who I am?” Our multilayered impunity problem

Point Blank

ON one of the major roads in Lagos, I saw a van belonging to one of our law enforcement agencies, which should be concerned with traffic laws, break the law so blatantly. The van came from the opposite direction at full speed on the same lane so drivers had to swerve quickly as possible for the safety of their cars.

The driver of the van had decided to ride against one-way traffic and, to save time, a couple of cars followed his lead in a flash. It was the most absurd thing I had seen in recent times. The enforcers of road traffic laws were basically leading citizens to drive against the law. This epitomizes the moral situation of Nigeria in general.

 

autojoshImage Credit: Autojosh

We are in a vicious cycle of lawlessness. It would seem as though there is no ruler and Nigerians are doing what is right in their own eyes. Everyone is a law unto himself as crimes dance freely in the sun. The phrase “Do you know who I am?” is a very familiar question in banking halls and offices of government ministries. Most Nigerians are beginning to truly believe that they are immune to the consequences of their actions against the law and this has cemented the several layers of impunity in our society. From home to the streets, the highway, government house, boards of directors in the private sector, the academia, and the armed forces, underhanded practices are now ignored or questioned less often. 

The impunity problem in Nigeria is a ball of onion with several skins to peel. Nigerians now seek power and wealth in order to bypass the law because the country kneels to power and not to the rule of law. This is why it has become common practice for powerful citizens to hire the authorities to pervert justice. Even the authorities and armed forces abuse power so easily because they have been assured of the absence of justice in the country.

The case of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is still fresh in mind. SARS used to be a unit of the Nigeria Police FORCE tasked with curbing violent crimes, but they decided to become the criminals themselves by violating human rights in their own country. Even though there was a noticeable pattern of abuse of power by SARS officers, the Nigerian authorities failed to bring perpetrators to justice repeatedly. In the absence of accountability and justice, the violations continued until a public outcry from the international #EndSARS movement forced the government to disband the police unit.

The government’s slow response to the abuse of power by that police unit was not surprising at all for the authorities also enjoyed impunity. Public officials and political leaders have always used the powers of their office to stay safe from injurious repercussions to their crimes. These leaders and representatives now consider themselves above the law, courtesy of the misuse of political power.

Over the years, ministers, governors, and heads of state have always come out of corruption scandals unscathed. So the political elite is often caught stuffing bribes in dollars into their agbada, owning private businesses with public funds, flouting court orders, and using their position to intimidate other Nigerians. The judiciary and other law enforcement agencies have become useful tools in the hands of political overlords. So, the institutions which are meant to bring fairness and balance have no choice but to consolidate impunity because they can be easily pocketed by politicians. 

In 2018, the British Council was awarded an EU-funded contract to manage the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) project in Nigeria. That project was to run for four years ending this year and it “aims to enhance good governance in the country by contributing to strengthening the rule of law, curbing corruption and reducing impunity”. Unfortunately, a few months before the end of the RoLAC project, Nigeria has failed to improve with regards to adherence to the rule of law and dealing with corrupt public officials. The dispensation of criminal justice is nothing close to timely; and transparent justice for women and children is yet to be taken seriously, while the vampires are still often protected from the law simply because the law enforcers cannot dare to answer the question “Do you know who I am?”.