By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has decried the increasing cases of extra-judicial killings in the Nigeria. Lamenting that life has lost its value, Soyinka urged President Bola Tinubu to take appropriate steps to halt the ugly trend.
He decried the inability of the Country’s Judicial system to offer any glimmer of hope to victims of oppression and abuse of state powers.
Soyinka spoke at the 28th Wole Soyinka lecture series held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital at the Weekend where he, also, expressed serious concern that the Nigerian system has tragically not only permitted actions that tend to devalue human lives, but has created an escape route for perpetrators to evade scrutiny and justice.
According to him ,the docile disposition of the citizenry in the face of gross and repeated incidents of human rights violation within the polity has tended to embolden perpetrators, and resulted in the devaluation of human life.
He noted at the event themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability , Justice,and Civic Courage”,the literary giant paid tribute to all those he described as the “victims of the skewed and dysfunctional state of affairs in the country.”
Referencing such gory incidents as the extra-judicial killings of 18 Ugheli Delta State residents, the shooting and killing of a suspect recently by some operatives of the Delta State Police Command, the lynching and burning of Deborah by some religious extremists and others, Soyinka regretted that the country’s judicial system has failed the victims by allowing perpetrators evade accountability.
“Through these remarks ,I pay honour to those who have lost their lives because of the deficiencies of the state which have led to the devaluation of human life.
“Today is dedicated to the 18 Ugheli residents butchered by state agencies for no reason at all, simply for minding their own business; to the young man shot dead in broad daylight by a policeman while under suspicion; and to Deborah, the youth hunted through the city by her own classmates, necklaced and set ablaze
“The Crime is the silence of the rest of us, that such a thing is possible ,and that the killers of that girl can actually go on television, hold up a match and say: “This is the match with which I set her on fire. And there the system of justice fails us completely”, the literary icon lamented.
Soyinka emphasized that defending the sanctity of human life remains paramount, contrary to accusations from critics to the effect that he tends to stoke sectarian and religious inflammation whenever he speaks against these glaring cases of injustice,
According to him, such gatherings as the Wole Soyinka lecture, remain a veritable platform to speak truth to power, as well as draw attention to the preeminent status of human life in any society..
On his part, former Aviation Minister Osita Chidioka underscored the imperative of equal application of the law ,for the purpose of ensuring justice.
He emphasized that the justice system should apply equally to all citizens irrespective of social status , political, ethnic, and or religious persuasion.
” The law is not established when it protects only our friends . Justice must defend the accused, the unpopular, the political opponent, and the minority because citizenship does not depend on agreement. Where justice is negotiable, citizenship becomes hierarchical”, he stated.
