Joseph Eribo, Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State.
Abasifreke Effiong
The public and families of victims of homicide in Akwa Ibom State are looking up to the Nigeria Police Force for justice.
Many cases of homicide committed in the state have been abandoned, in many of these cases, the police made no committed effort to arrest the principal suspects, thus, disappointingly neglecting its constitutional responsibility to protect life and property.
Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution (Amended) establishes the Nigeria Police Force, Section 4 of the Police Act outlines the duties of the Police to include protection of life and property, and the enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged. Other duties the police are charged with spelt out in the Section include, prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders, preservation of law and order, and performance of such military duties within and outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of the Police Act.
The Akwa Ibom state police command is indebted in justice to victims and families whose persons were arbitrarily deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed right to life. The cases are many, some have been abandoned. For instance, the murder of Barr. Sunday Akpan in Nung Ukana Ikot Efre, Ibesikpo Asutan, on December 14, 2021; Ntiedo Udo Udokang on May 13, 2022 near Saint Columbanus Secondary School, Ikwen, Obot Akara; Samuel Hezekiah Isaiah, from Ikot Akpa Idem, Ukanafun, in June 2024; a farm handyman, Akaninyene Udo Frank in Ikot Ubok Udom, Nsit Atai, on July 18, this year, among others. In these cases, the police made no efforts to make arrest, consequently, the culprits are not prosecuted.
According to Olisa Agbakoba Legal resource centre, more than 400,000 people die globally from murder or culpable homicide each year. In Nigeria, murder and culpable homicide and attempt to murder are becoming alarmingly prevalent, generating public concerns. According to Open Data for Africa, 17,843 cases of homicide were recorded in Nigeria in 2015. The number of homicides rose by 4.99% from 16,996 in 2010. Since a 5.25% jump in 2005, number of homicides leapt by 8.65% in 2015. The rate was 6.02 per 100,000 in 2016. In the first and second quarters of 2017, 13 cases of spousal homicide were reported by the police.
These data show increase in cases of homicide, consequently pointing to why the public should worry. Increase in homicide are caused by multiple factors ranging from broad and external triggers to personal causes. Falling moral values and lax for the sacredness and purity of human life, increase in membership of violent secret cults and cult-related clashes, exposure to diabolic get-rich schemes, proliferation and increased access to illegal firearms and hard drugs, long exposure to violent contents and consequential desensitization about harm and death, anger, frustration, hate, envy and other psychological factors are triggering the propensity to homicide.
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Murder is the offence of intentionally killing a person.Two criminal law regimes are in operation in Nigeria, the Penal Code and Criminal Code. In giving definition to murder, Section 316 of the Criminal Code states that offence of murder is committed when a person unlawfully kills another under any of six circumstances, namely (a) If the offender intends to cause the death of the person killed, or that of some other person; (b) If the offender intends to do to the person killed or to some other person some grievous harm; (c) If death is caused by means of an act done in the prosecution of an unlawful purpose, which act is of such a nature as to be likely to endanger human life; (d) If the offender intends to do grievous harm to some person for the purposes of facilitating the commission of an offence which is such that the offender may be arrested without warrant, or for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence which is such that the offender may be arrested without warrant, or for the purpose of facilitating the flight of an offender who has committed or attempted to commit any such offence;(e) If death is caused by administering any stupefying or overpowering things for either of the purpose last aforesaid; (f) If death is caused by willfully stopping the breath of any person for either of such purpose, is guilty of murder.
Murder is a capital offence. Punishment under the law is death. Sadly, those who killed or were responsible for the deaths of those listed in the cases opere citato are roaming the streets, some have become habitual criminals because the “long arm of the law” is too busy with distractive misdemeanours. Murder is a heinous crime prohibited in religions and countries. No one has the right to take the life of another person. Death even by natural causes is agonising, more more is murder. Family members who witness the cruel and agonising last moments of loved ones killed unlawfully live with those traumatic memories throughout their lifetime, therefore, such people deserve justice. We are calling on the Nigeria Police Force, Akwa Ibom State Command to re-open investigations into unresolved cases of homicide, culpable homicide and attempts to murder, with the view to getting justice for victims and their families and strengthening deterrence against the horrible crime of homicide.
First published by the The Atlantic Observer
