The need to refocus attention on the subject of media trial and harassment of suspects by the Nigerian security agencies is now top priority in light of repeated human rights violations by security agents.
The latest, an infernal parading of Amina Mohammed, a middle-aged woman said to have evaded protocol to gain access into the Presidential Villa in Abuja while pretending to be ‘First Lady’ of Kogi, a Northern state in Nigeria, should prompt a tipping point in the advocacy to end this recurrent cruelty.
According to the Nigeria’s spy agency —Department of State Security (DSS), the woman, in addition to the illegal access by impersonation, lured a wealthy businessman, Dr. Alexander Okafor into the State House while making him believe the invitation was at the instance of Aisha Buhari, the Nigerian President’s wife and defrauded him of 150 million naira ($414,000) over a property deal in Lagos.
The agency said she promised to help Okafor purchase a Court of Appeal property under the Presidential Implementation Committee on Lease of Federal Government Property through the First Lady (Aisha Buhari) who at the time in November 2018, was out of the country.
However, in a manner typical of the Nigerian security agencies, the DSS at its media briefing on Monday, December 3, unleashed the most egregious onslaught on the presumed innocent Amina Mohammed by serving her up to a flurry of marauding journalists who sought to interview her at all cost.
The woman, obviously tensed, and confused, by the wave of journalists firing stuttered questions without any slightest coordination, scampered across the room with her head covering used to cover her face from the rogue forces that have swamped her.
The journalists who then became increasingly relentless in their wild manner, dragged and pulled her two scarves to expose her hair just so they could get her to speak and photograph her face. In one moment, Amina Mohammad fell to ground, quickly hid under a desk but the violation only continued.
She was left in the wilderness, unrescued from about 20 amateur journalists who continued to abuse her for information while Peter Afunanya, the agency’s Public Relations Officer and other DSS henchmen watched to satiety.
Primarily, unlawful suspect parading or media trial, is an aspect of the justice process that needs swift intervention due to the enormous damage and odium it brings upon suspects especially those that are eventually exonerated from the crimes they were hitherto accused of.
No Nigerian law supports such brutal parade of any suspect, in fact, the practice directly contradicts section 36 (5) of the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 which states: Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty.”
It is on this basis that Justice Aneke in the famous case of Ottoh Obono v. Inspector General of Police, offered damages to the tune of N20 million against the Nigeria Police Force to the suspect (accused of belonging to a gang of armed robbers) after he was exonerated of the crime.
The damages were awarded against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police for publishing the suspect’s photograph in the Punch Newspaper of Thursday, October 8, 2009 and broadcasting the news item on the 9’o’clock Network News Programme of the NTA on the same date.
The Nigerian Police Force itself affirmed during a #AskThePolice session on @PoliceNG Twitter handle,that the purpose of suspect parade is to show to the public that the force is working.
The Force, in response to a question by one Olusesan Ayodele, a Twitter user, said parade of suspects “is simply the Force letting the public know the efforts and achievements of the Police in curbing and reducing crime to the barest minimum”.
In retrospect, legendary Nigerian musician and human rights activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, also suffered the same fate as Amina Mohammed in January 1997 when he was paraded in public in chains by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged possession of narcotic substance.
NDLEA eventually dropped the charges after Fela’s lawyer proved his “confessional statement” was obtained while he was paraded in chains under duress.
There is no need to further justify that the practice is counterproductive and contradictory to the tenets of a civilized society.
The involvement of journalists in the reprehensible practice has also exposed the professional and ethical errors in the journalism trade.
The duty of interrogating suspects has never belonged on the journalists let alone obtaining information for news article from suspects by force. They need to be enlightened that a suspect is not under any obligation to speak with journalists whatsoever. If the suspect feels inclined to grant interviews, it should be an exercise of his informed personal choice.
Regardless of the gravity of Amina Mohammed’s alleged crimes, she does not deserve such inhumane parade and abuse by journalist nor the DSS agents.
The DSS boss, Yusuf Magaji, must step into the matter and administer appropriate sanctions to those responsible for the violation.
The Nigerian lawmakers must as a matter of urgency put a stop to the recurrent rights violations. A stitch in time, saves nine.
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