Man needs law, and law is the creation of man for man. The law is meant to regulate and prescribe punishment against any misdeeds or misdemeanors of man. Often times, man would want to try and disobey or circumvent the law by proving ignorant, yet, the law is strong enough to deter man. This innate nature of man to commit flout the law, was the reason why God made laws from the onset to regulate the activities of man in the garden of Eden.
With the law, man is better governed and also by the law, punishment is metted out to offenders. Governments the world over are able to rule their citizens or subjects as it relates to traditional rulers. That was why some persons in the society are recruited and trained as law enforcement officers to watch over the daily activities and conducts of human beings in every nook and cranny of the society. Yet, human beings still exhibit the animalistic tendencies that are innate in them. In all of these frivolities, the conscience remains the only guide that can stop man from indulging in acts that are questionable. As it is, it seems even the conscience which helps man to obey the inner sense by doing what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action seems to be dead. Which is very unfortunate!.
No wonder some police officers adjudicating over cases, are more interested in what they would gain financially instead of their good name. When the conscience is dead, morality goes to the dust. When conscience is dead the society lacks human feelings and the youths get involve in robbery, rape, kidnapping and other criminal vices while the elders exhibit every traits of corrupt tendencies . Indeed, when the conscience is dead, governments are like rudderless ship heading for a wreck. ln all of these, the society becomes the worst for it.
Recently, a social media video was published on the Facebook walls of notable senator showing the gruesome “roasting” of a hefty young man for allegedly stealing a motorcycle. He was publicly judged by miscreants and hoodlums around the motor park and before by- standers he was asked to kneel down and sticks were drawn from every corner and used to flog him . He wailed in pain, screamed for help instead of help, they jeered and mocked him. Minutes later, before every onlooker, four disused vehicle tyers came handy and were thrown on him while he was still wailing and screaming for help, raising his hands. Suddenly someone in the crowd provided four liter gallon of petrol and sprinkled it all over the body while another brought matches and ignited the fuel and boom, the body was set ablaze. The victim’s voice dimmed as his muscles started shrinking and his skin was engulfed in fire.
He has been beaten to dead by irate mob. In Nigeria such barbaric act is called jungle justice or what the elites describe as mob action. While the ladies could not believe their eyes , the youths, mostly “area boys” beat their chest for a job well done. One can read from their faces that their conscience was dead. They openly laughed as conquerors. They believe, they have achieved something. They have succeeded in sending one of their enemies to hell. Jungle justice or mob justice is a form of public extrajudicial killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, most notably Nigeria and Cameroon, where an alleged criminal is humiliated, beaten or summarily executed by an irate crowd. Thank goodness that a bill that would help to fully address this barbaric act is already before the floor of the National Assembly. One hopes that if it should pass all the levels expected of it to mature for full passage, then culprits and every one that is culpable would not be allowed to go scot free. The time is now when shedding of innocent blood via violent crime and other methods should be meted with similar harshness. Yes, an eye for an eye, and a life for a life. By this, Nigerians would be extra careful on how they treat fellow human beings. It is worrisome that criminals already sentenced to death are still breathing and consuming our meal when they ought to have been offered death “visa” by serving governor’s who should have signed their death warrant, instead many governors are hiding under religious tenets which says “thou shall not kill”. lf a man knows that he should not kill and proceeds to kill a fellow man, how many of such killers shall we condone just because the holy book admonishes against killing. lf the holy book warns us not to kill and we went ahead to kill, then we should be ready to face the consequence of killing someone, so kill and be killed.