By Pelumi Olajengbesi
News outlets; traditional and new media, were awash recently with a photo splash parade of some young men by operatives of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, next to them were a racket of laptops intended to provoke the image that the said young men were fraudsters, popularly called Yahoo Boys.
In saner climes, such a theatre of absurdity would rankle everyone, but the Nigerian public and its security officers seem to buy into such condemnable antics or are simply blissfully oblivious of its indictment of our methods as a country as being obnoxious and backward.
The videos and pictures went viral online instantly. Social media platforms, bloggers and freelance pages put out prints and coverage to the news, giving it regrettable depth and reach. Instablog9ja, my one-time favorite, took the hook and published same lending irreparable harm to the public image of said young men yet to be convicted of the said crime as paraded.
I am deeply disappointed at the ease with which such contents find acceptability in the media and this suggests that, firstly, legal liability for libel is an alien notion to our print/social media owners, and secondly, security outfits in Nigeria need to undergo a thorough reformative process.
In this instance, here are a few posers that immediately arise from the EFCC’s act above;
- Are they acting within their powers?
- Is the parade right in law and social norms?
Quite simply, NO to both posers. The EFCC, or any Nigerian security outfit, do not poccess the power in law to parade arrested individuals especially in full glare of the media. It is quite wrong, offensive and in breach of said individual’s immutable constitutional right to dignity of human person and more importantly the right fair hearing.
Naturally, we must ask why then has this illegal and unacceptable practice become the convention amongst Nigerian security outfits notorious amongst which are the EFCC and the Nigeria Police Force. As it is, it is too often the case that Nigeria Law Enforcement agencies are given to misguided exuberance and an overzealousness that is complicated by a lack of thorough-ness in their operations. It is not the prerogative of these agencies to second-guess the courts nor attempt to score cheap public points on their supposed bravodo in crime-fighting by debasing arrested suspects.
Too often, such poorly handled media shenanigans mess up subsequent trials. This is one such proof of the perennial unproductivity of the Police and the EFCC in prosecuting matters in court. In the instance above, these individuals, in a twisted EFCC rhetoric, are Yahoo Boys solely because they possess laptops, not owing to a raid that caught them in the very act or that the arrest itself is the culminating effort of an investigation.
Labelling, done outside the court in a charge or an information, is defamation. Law Enforcement Agencies are not exempted from blame in such cases. Besides the fact must be stated explicitly that parading suspects and reeling out accusations at press time amounts to tipping the hands or playing the ace right before proceedings commence in court. The accused have much more information to work with and cover up their tracks in the instances where they are in fact guilty of an offence.
More often than not, real crimes are smothered in a rash of actions designed to gain public accolades by these Law Enforcement Agencies. Assuming without conceding that the said individuals are guilty of a different crime, maybe kidnapping, wouldn’t wrongly labelling them throw the investigators off scent? Isn’t that in itself an escape route exploited severally in similar cases ? What are the success rate of the cases brought against such persons in court? Not even marginal. It is foolishness to repeat the same process and hope for different results each time.
This account for the reason why the EFCC have not been able to get any meaningful conviction against internet fraudsters in Nigeria. The young men paraded would be entitled to bail after forty-eight hours at most because the EFCC’s effectiveness as a prosecutor is occluded by it’s priority as an agency of drama with no real effects.
Publicly parading arrested suspects goes against every grain of legal, social and moral rights that should be the building block of our legal system. It is a mockery of the constitution and one that is deign to continue unchecked.
Every society is a construct of perception which is why reputation is a virtue guided and enforced at law. Stereotypes are anemic to social integration, victims are never spared the brunt of being judged without cause even years after said incidences occurred. It is not unusual that a good number of paraded individuals are in fact innocent of the heavy insinuations fed the public by their open parade. However, there is hardly a second public parade to declare the innocence of these persons and so the stigma leeches them long enough to completely rid some of a sense of dignity and acceptance.
We are now in a society where suspects are assumed guilty before conviction. They are ridiculed, chastised and suffer open opprobrium by the public who innocently assume that a valid case is being made about their criminality. I think it is crucial that such insensitivity and blatant abuse of human rights particularly by the Nigeria Police and other sister law enforcement agencies need to be addressed. It is unfair and inappropriate for individuals who are only being accused of a crime without arraignment and trial by a court of competent jurisdiction should be tagged as criminals with the aid of the media.
The presumption of innocence is a constitutional right of every person as guaranteed by Section 36 (5) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended. The law in effect is that every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty. The constitution guarantees presumption of innocence and it avails an accused person until properly arraigned, tried and rightly convicted by a court with competent jurisdiction.
Several individuals have suffered from the public parades and similar publishing in newspaper by Law Enforcement Agencies, notably the EFCC. The damages range from a loss of reputation to loss of business contacts, deals, public ridicule and plummeting estimation in the eyes of friends, family and associates.
Public parades are not part of the investigative process nor does it fast-track the policing process. It is a sham show that enunciates the excesses of those entrusted with the power of arrest and prosecution. It is a ridiculous media-fest that should have no place in our policing culture.
Now is a good time for an overhaul of the value system of our Law Enforcement Agencies; a reformative process that must help its officers inculcate the best practices in service and rid our agencies of effete theatrics.
Before we are plunged into a dystopian society with a fetish for the absurd and downright ridiculous, caution must be exercised and wisdom applied.
Public parades are demeaning, unnecessary and self-defeating thus exposing our agencies to legal liability and international ridicule to boot. Arraignment procedures are quite clear at law, perhaps our officers would be better groomed by actually reading the statutes that empower them.
An image, once laundered, is hardly ever redeemed by a balance of acquittal. The EFCC and other agencies must do much more in their roles as protector of the sanity and peace of Nigeria and Nigerians for everyone’s sake.
Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq Lead Partner, Pelumi Olajengbesi & Co. Law Corridor, Nigeria.
NIGERIA NEWSPOINT
