WHY SOLDIERS AND POLICE WILL MESS WITH YOU AND GET AWAY WITH IT.

Erhomosele Happy 

 Author: Erhomosele Happy Esq. Practicing lawyer, writer, blogger, and philanthropist.  

You probably have been slapped, knocked, chanced at an ATM machine, beaten to a pulp, or detained unlawfully by soldiers or policemen to say the least and you did nothing.

“Well…what can I do? It is the police or soldier. That’s how things are in Nigeria. There is no law. There is no respect for human rights.” Isn’t this what you said afterwards? Isn’t this what you’ve been telling people?

But then, have you sought advice from a lawyer about the propriety or otherwise of the unjust act to you or you just went home like a coward and made a solitary statement that there is no law in Nigeria and therefore there is nothing you can do?

I cannot say that law in Nigeria is perfect and indeed, there is no country in the world with a perfect law. But what I can tell you is that: “There is something you can do!”

Enforce your rights! That’s what you ought to do.

The reason you think that countries like the U.S and others in Europe respect citizens’ rights is because people there don’t cower away when something unjust happens to them.

If you have been thinking that people there don’t face unjust treatment, you have been misinformed. These things are quite inevitable and that is why there is a law in place to regulate and remedy such.

You have rights! But it is not enough. You must demand that those rights be respected. You must take deliberate and committed steps to ensure that your rights are respected.

Nobody will enforce your rights for you. That is why it is yours. However, there are lawyers and organizations that can help you with that.

There will definitely be financial obligations on your part but do not let your concern for this put you down because you cannot quantify human rights in monetary terms since they are rights that accrue to you as a human being.

You should know that there are people who have been embarrassed by uniform men and they have been able to get justice. You probably do not know about these cases, but such people did not go to sleep until something was done.

Many have been awarded damages worth millions of naira in addition to public apology in National newspapers. Many of us don’t care to read newspapers so we wouldn’t know.

What about the individuals responsible for messing with you? On many occasions, they have been punished, their salaries slashed, suspended, and even dismissed. Yes, dismissed!

I am a lawyer and truly I will not tell you that our legal system is perfect but I have seen these things happen. You can get justice! You can ensure that the policeman or soldier who messed with you gets punished!

However, if you must find, then you must seek. Lawyers cannot help you until you approach one just as barbers don’t go round cutting people’s hair. If you want a haircut, you will have to go to the barber’s shop. You also cannot get medical help by staying at home.

I believe that life and learning are in stages so all I seek to do by this piece is to bring to your awareness the fact that you can do something about that slap you got from that soldier, the chancing you got at the ATM, the beating of your life you got from that Mopol, and so on.

If you continue to ignore human rights abuse, these uniform men will keep doing it all the more. But should Nigerians start pursuing every case, I assure you that things will change.

If you have questions or would like to know more, send us an email_routenaija@gmail.com. We have lawyers who want to make a difference and are willing to respond to your concerns.

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