I find it difficult, even impossible, to understand why the security agencies in Nigeria are pampering instead of punishing terrorists. This pampering programme is called “Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration” (DDR). This concept is usually applied for post-conflict management when both sides in a war agree to lay down their arms amd embrace peace after negotiated settlements. One of the reasons often used to support this sort of project is that some of the terrorists were either conscripted or induced to join on the pains of death. But for me no excuse is good enough to kill a fellow human being who has not hurt or wronged you in any way.
This formula adopted by our security agencies to set free criminals who have kidnapped and or killed scores of people is not the right solution for Nigeria’s security situation. Nigeria is not in a post-conflict situation and there is no negotiated settlement or cease fire of any sort. The terrorists are still vigorously operating in various parts of Nigeria. They are busy attacking our police and army stations, people on the roads, towns and villages and even persons in Displaced peoples’ facilities, schools and other targets that they consider soft. They have remained ruthless and merciless in their offensive against the Nigerian people.
This approach towards managing serious crime is quite offensive to most Nigerians including crime-and-punishment experts, communities, law enforcement agencies, victims and right thinking people. These terrorists have done a lot to damage the psyche and wellbeing of Nigerians. They collect huge ransom from Nigerians sometimes without releasing the victims. They collect ransom and still kill their captives under the pretext that the ransom was not huge enough. They sometimes kill their victims and also burn down their houses, thus rendering the survivors homeless.
This DDR approach conflicts with our criminal justice system and rule of law. A few weeks ago the government of Nigeria approved the release of a few thousand Nigerians with minor offences thus saving about two billion naira in feeding fees for those released from prison. That was a goodwill gesture that pleased many Nigerians because there are thousands of Nigerians who have been put behind bars for years for very minor offences. So if the justice system puts behind bars people who steal bananas and plantain, crayfish and corn, goats and chicken, toothpaste and tooth pick why should hardened criminals who kill or maim people be set free under some dubious agenda? It does not matter whether the terrorists were captured or they surrendered. They ought to be tried under our laws and punished appropriately. If they surrendered and confessed their sins the decision makers in the legal system may decide to give them punishment that is a little milder than what the full wrath of the law prescribes for such offenders. But there can be no freedom for terrorists without punishment. Terrorism is a crime and all crimes must be punished for the society to be sane, and for other potential criminals to be discouraged from taking to crime. Punishment is a deterrent to crime. Non-punishment is an incentive to crime. We must not show compassion to crime, because criminals do not show compassion to their victims no matter how vulnerable, no matter the gender, no matter the age. It is not the guns that they hold that kill people; it is they, the people who hold the guns, that kill people. If the assumption on the part of those proposing the DDR formula is that people may do evil things without being evil, they are wrong. No one can do evil things without being evil inside out.
Some people may plead that criminals can be forgiven because they are not in control of the root causes of terrorism or other crimes in the society. Yes, terrorism may be caused by poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and religious extremism. Yes, these issues are there in almost every society. The duty of leaders in every society is to ensure that these contributory causes of crime are reduced to the barest minimum. The duty of every citizen is to ensure that they prevent themselves from being involved in crime despite the challenging times in which we find ourselves today. That is why the people who commit crime are fewer than those who don’t. And that is also why those who commit these crimes cannot, must not, be given a hug by those whose responsibility it is to exterminate crime from the society.
In this DDR programme the question to ask is: “where is justice for the victim?” Every crime has victims; without a victim there would be no crime. And if a crime occurs and the victim gets no justice, that is double jeopardy especially if the criminal is set free. This DDR programme seems to pay much attention to the terrorist and no attention whatsoever to the victim. In Borno State the Governor Professor Zulum has been campaigning for the rehabilitation of the terrorists who have damaged his State almost irreparably. His plan is to reintegrate these terrorists among the people, among their victims. Is that a good decision? I don’t think so. And the victims are protesting anyway. This is a betrayal of the victims. It cannot make for community harmony and stability. It is a blatant and indirect way of encouraging the spread of terrorism. The logic here is that the potential terrorist will think that if he takes to terrorism and he is caught he will be pardoned, not punished. He will be accepted and taken back into the community and he will be embraced by those he punished if they are still alive.
There might be some unspoken excuses that are quietly being offered by the security agencies for the DDR programme. One of them may be that these terrorists came from various countries, such countries include Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Libya etc. Wherever criminals come from does not matter. Every person living in any country is subject to the laws of that country. If a foreigner violates the law in his country of residence he must carry the can. Punishing a criminal who is a foreigner does not affect the relationship between the country of origin of the criminal and the country of the criminal’s residence.
The other reason some people think the decision makers are in favour of pardoning and rehabilitating the terrorists is that our prisons are already overcrowded. The prisons may be overcrowded but people who commit serious crimes must not be spared. The executive and the judiciary big wigs must work out ways of punishing small time criminals without necessarily throwing them into jail. They can be subjected to manual labour or such other activities that are fair but are seen as punishment for their offences. That way congestion can be severely reduced in our prisons so that congestion does not become an excuse for setting hardened criminals free.
I believe that it is the victim of terrorism who should receive pampering from our security services and government. It is they who deserve to receive rehabilitation, counselling, compensation, financial support, legal and medical aid and full resettlement in a safe environment.
Those who are pushing this DDR programme should do a rethink because it is a disincentive to justice delivery, justice for the victim and the society.