Laws In The Wild

National Geographic Wild is probably the most fascinating channel on DSTV. It airs on Channel 261 and has become of my favorites on satellite television besides the SuperSports Channels. The channel features the wildest animals in their natural habitats in the thickest jungles. You get to see uncut and crude animal behavior and the most interesting thing is that even in the Kingdom Animalia, there is order. These 'lower' creatures as we humans are fond of calling them exhibit high levels of organization and every beast knows his or her place in the territory.


I strongly believe what has endeared me to NatGeoWild is the comparisons I usually get to make between these creatures and my kinsmen a.k.a Nigerians. Occasionally, I'm tempted to think that the human beings are actually the 'lower' creatures after all.

This my hypothesis was further strengthened by events at Ikota area of Lekki on Friday 10th August 2012. A 35 year old mother of three, Mrs Yinka Johnson was apprehended by the Police on the allegation that she rammed into a LASTMA official and had thus, sent him to an early grave. She was subsequently detained in SCID Panti Yaba till yesterday when she was arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate Court on the charges of 'reckless driving'.

I'm still not certain why I have been so incensed since I read the story yesterday. The headline read 'Banker escapes Manslaughter charges'. Seriously? 'Escapes?'. I am then reassured that the society I live in is most likely worse than a jungle. What this headline implies is that this system did her a favor by not arraigning her for the charge of murder. This is a woman who had no business being detained in the first place.

Worse still, in the days of her detention, she had to pass through this ordeal with her 90-day old infant. Understandably, she probably didn't want to disrupt the baby's feeding as she had probably wisely adopted exclusive breastfeeding. 

How do we explain this goofy action of the law enforcement personnel. They wrongly arrested and detained an innocent woman for about 5days. It is amazing that she was arrested for the offence in the first place. I do not need to be a CSI detective to know that the impact required to kill a man with a car will do considerable damage to the vehicle itself. 

How do I know this? Twelve years ago, a man was crossing Third Mainland Bridge and yours truly was unfortunately speeding down and it was a case of 'man versus machine'. The machine won. Even though the man survived the accident, the car was in the mechanic workshop for a few weeks. The windshield was smashed and the fenders and bonnet were almost rumbled irreparably. I was probably going at 120kph and I was on the 8-lane Third Mainland Bridge. Also note that I was driving a Mercedes Benz and not a Kia or Hyundai. 

I know the Ikota axis of the Lekki-Epe Road fairly well. I know that LCC has, intentionally or otherwise, caused a lot of physical and emotional distress for the residents on that axis of Lagos. I also know the number of productive hours wasted sitting in traffic on that road even after paying a toll at Admiralty Circle Plaza (and soon the Chevron Plaza). I have in fact, driven against traffic to beat traffic on that road on more than one occasion.

Amazingly,Yinka Johson somehow rammed into the late LASTMA officer with a static car. It simply defies logic. Her car is reported not to have had even a dent and yet she was arrested? There are also reports that the offending Danfo was at the scene with a broken windshield and overt dents and somehow the LASTMA officials and Policemen at the scene all missed it.They claimed that after she rammed the man she took off and resisted arrest till a squad was dispatched from a nearby Police Division to forcefully arrest her. Interesting! A full squad was dispatched to arrest a 35-year old Stanbic IBTC banker who was unarmed and non-psychotic? Yinka Johnson must surely be Cat-woman or Wonder-woman at the very least!

I have my own theory of what happened. The late LASTMA staff and his colleagues probably got into an altercation with Yinka and she may have naturally said some unwholesome things as these glorified area-boys called LASTMA push sane people to. Then the accident happened and the colleagues embarked on vendetta to ensure Yinka suffered for being abrasive. Unsurprisingly, our dynamic and intelligent Police Force did not use their cerebral hemispheres when they were apprehending Yinka. They would have asked questions about the intact car and the damaged Danfo.

Now, Yinka is charged for reckless driving after doing 5 days in detention. She was locked up with fraudsters, murderers and the ilk. We still have the guts to arraign her for driving recklessly when we should be talking about compensating the traumatized young lady. This system disrupted her family unit and career for 5days. We traumatized her children for 5days and threw her husband into emotional turmoil for 5days. Then the same ignoble system has now arraigned her for reckless driving! So, the 5day wrongful detention is null and void?

Yinka Johnson must sue the State Government for such irresponsibility. In sane societies, right now, Yinka should be smiling to the bank with a fat compensation cheque. Yinka should sue then her immediate family should sue separately! It is unbelievable folly on the part of Government and law enforcement agencies. They should go under a rock and hibernate for weeks for such a detestable act of stupidity. Unfortunately, they know its Nigeria. The courts do not work and justice is available to the highest bidder. They know the society we live in is one lower than a jungle where human rights are only remotely read of on the pages of some law books. They know the courts are no longer the last hope of the common man. They know they'll get away with such ineptitude.

All this in a State governed by a 'progressive' democrat and a supposed Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

The social media helped in Yinka's plight. It was all over the news and eye witness accounts spread far and wide. The doltishly ineffective security agents almost got away with another act of sheer wickedness and mental laziness.

Unlike Yinka who spent just 5days in detention, some other nameless persons are rotting away right this moment in prisons across Nigeria. Incarcerated for crimes they know little or nothing about. I have this on good information. A lady is currently languishing in Kirikiri Women's Prison for a crime she is totally oblivious of. She is just over 20 years of age. Her whole life has been put on an abrupt hold. There are thousands of such women and men. This is a rotten system. 

I wish Yinka Johnson the best after such an ordeal. Another person failed by the same system we ask her to continue to pray fervently for. She now knows what a jail cell looks like, thanks to her loving fatherland. 

Lagos is working.