The latest killings near Apo Quarters in the Federal Capital Territory have further illustrated how our tragedies often leave us with many unanswered questions and even deeper tragedies.
In 2005 six youths riding in a car at night were killed in Apo by traffic duty policemen, triggering an outcry across the country. One predominant question then was, what offence did the six Igbo youths commit? When Nigerians tired of asking a question that no one could provide a reasonable answer, they hoped that a probe of the incident would put them out of their worries. Eight years after, no investigation of any kind has established the crime of the deceased youths, nor have their killers been seen to have faced the music they deserved. Messy incidents like that routinely leave us as a people feeling had, violated and diminished.
On September 20, more youths were gunned down in the same area of Abuja, also by security personnel. The only difference is that the nation's capital of today is not quite what it was when the Apo Six were felled. As I put this piece together, reports said 10 people were killed by a team of soldiers and state security agents on a raid of an unfinished house in the area. Several other people in that building reportedly sustained injuries and were hospitalised. The security men were said to be on a mission to flush out terrorists.
Well, the mission got a bit sticky, for shortly after it was accomplished, a House committee on public safety and national security took on the minister of the territory, Bala Mohammed, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, plying them with questions. Reports said Senator Mohammed was "quizzed" while the general was only in a "closed-doors" meeting with members of the committee.
We can take a hint. Both men were questioned regarding the killings, suggesting that the House of Representatives was as concerned about the circumstances surrounding the Apo deaths as are most Nigerians. In fact, even the Senate has been asked to investigate the killings.
And, really, it is worth investigating. What are the identities of the dead? Were they terrorists? Were they menial workers, and if they were, what sort of menial work did they do? Were they water vendors, shoe-shine boys or refuse collectors or what? Or were they tricycle operators and commercial motorcyclists, as the chief of a tricycle and motorcycle association claimed? It is imperative to resolve these issues because lives and reputations are involved even as Nigeria grapples with its worst challenge yet. It is wise to determine what dangers occupants of that house posed to other people in the neighbourhoods, knowing, as one report said, that the building was only about 100 metres from the home of a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
General Ihejirika said arms and ammunition were found in the house and that the security personnel were attacked first on approach to the building. He was also quoted saying a thorough investigation was carried out based on the information they had before the raid. The next thing is to tender the evidence before relevant authorities in order to clear the military and the state security outfit, and disabuse the minds of concerned Nigerians. It is important to show that the fight against terrorism is based on clear-headed strategies and also within the realm of acceptable standards.
Senator Mohammed also made some contributions to the anti-terrorism campaign, but they are essentially pedestrian, lamely reactionary, if not outright unhelpful. Reports said the minister and his staff have identified no fewer than 100,000 illegal buildings and another 435 unfinished houses and have marked them for demolition. He said any building which is not completed two years after approval will be pulled down, or if it "cannot" be pulled down, will be converted to a police post. The reason for this action, Mohammed said, is to deny miscreants hiding places.
This is a curious way to fight terrorism. The FCT, as everyone knows, is a territory under construction or deconstruction, but it is pertinent to ask the man who reigns over it why, in spite of the frequent demolitions, there are still as many as 100,000 illegal buildings standing. Did the illegal structures precede Senator Mohammed's ministry, or did they spring up in spite of his roaring bulldozers? Are the structures popping up faster than his demolition team can cope with? As for the fate of the 435 unfinished houses, what manner of law or regulation determines the time frame within which a landowner can finish building his house? Can anyone measure the waste, to say nothing of the anguish, if after acquiring a piece of land and initiating its development, fate makes it difficult to finish up quickly enough? Think of the police post angle: why can some buildings be pulled down and some "cannot"?
In any event, it is difficult for one to be persuaded that the issue of terrorism is really about uncompleted buildings. What about the owners of the buildings or the lack of proper surveillance?
Senator Mohammed was also said to be intent on running integrity tests on uncompleted buildings. It is difficult to establish a reasonable link between weak structures and terrorism threat.
So just how relevant are Mohammed's post-Apo killings contributions to the much-needed anti-terrorism battle? Pretty little.
