I was in the parlour when I saw a programme on prisoners that were held custody. Justice has been denied so many people. Most have been detained for no cause at all. Some lie in wait for the cold hands of death to take them. Some have wasted over 20 years detained in prison and are yet to face trial.
Some of their file cases have been lost. Some do not even deserve a year’s jail term but then, they are made to spend their youthful lives in jail. While I was rehashing this, I had a flashback of a case I am familiar with. His name is Obinna. He left his house to go visit a friend. While he stood at the bus stop waiting for a bus, a quarrel broke out among two other people standing at the bus stop.
The quarrel became serious and then bloody in the process, one of them died. The police came out of nowhere, and as usual took everyone on sight including Obinna. On arrival at the police station, he and the others were forced to write a statement, they were beaten, their clothes were collected, as well as their phones and every other items they had with them on arrival. They all went into the cell with only their boxers.
Meanwhile, Obinna’s widowed mom waited for her son’s arrival that night but he didn’t come home. No one had any idea of where he was. She searched for him for a week and still no trace. From a week to a month, a month became several months, it turned to a year and then several years still no news of Obinna. Obinna was abandoned in the prison, suffering from a crime he knew nothing about, no one to bail him, no one knew where he was. His mom was in agony.
The pain of not knowing if her son was dead or alive overwhelmed her. The church prayed for the Obinna earnestly. Several years afterwards, a man that knew Obinna was sentenced to the same prison. They saw each other and the man didn’t know if it was a ghost or a human he saw. Obinna had to explain his predicament to him. Luckily for him, the parents of the other man came to bail him and he explained that he saw the missing Obinna. Words went out to Obinna’s mother and she came straight away to bail her son. Only God knows the number of inmates serving terms for acts they are completely oblivious of.
Sadly, in a country like Nigeria, most times, justice is not only delayed but also denied. The perpetrators of evil are spared. They steal billions of naira, pay fines and they are spared. They loot the country’s finance that was meant for the entire populace yet, they don’t get to spend the night in the cell however, someone else steals a thousand naira and is locked up for over 20 yrs and is yet to face trial. Imagine being confined in a room for 25 yrs and more? Imagine the agony of the family members of such a person, the stigma, the fact that it is even on record and will be for life is indeed a cause for worry. It is interesting to note though that this dispensation isn’t suffering fools gladly and everyone is conscious of being exposed and brought to justice once allegations are made and evidence is given. It is a positive step and it is welcomed and appreciated. It’s high time Nigeria and Nigerians are celebrated for the gifts and intelligence rather than being tagged ‘fantastically corrupt’.
CHINYERE OKEREKE
