THE N300,000 paid to the family of one of the victims of the #EndBadGovernance protest, Ismail Mohammed, by the military as compensation has further exposed the disregard for citizens, and human lives in general, by those in authority. It spoke volumes of the position of some leaders, who use every opportunity to assert their superiority over the downtrodden and treat human lives with ignominy.
Ismail was gruesomely murdered at his residence at Sarkin Pawa Street, Samaru, Zaria, through a stray bullet, during a 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government on the Kaduna and Zaria metropolis, following the violence and looting that trailed the protest. His case is just one among many who were killed by security agents, during the 10-Day protest proposed by the organisers of the #EndBadGovernance protest
The circumstances leading to the death of the 16-year-old boy were non-contestable as the Nigerian Army admitted responsibility and attributed it to what security forces always referred to as accidental discharge.
The boy, like others in his neighbourhood, had run into the house to take refuge after soldiers invaded the community to enforce the curfew imposed by the governor, little did he know that that presumed escape would be his undoing as a bullet found him in his hiding place.
The protest in Zaria was taking a dangerous dimension, necessitating the decision to restrict movement and curtail the excesses of those who had hijacked the protest to perpetrate various degrees of criminality in the area. Unfortunately, Ismail, a budding youth, was not among the perpetrators but the fire from the security personnel cut short his life. His brother, Abubakar Mohammed, narrated how the bullet pierced their door and hit the deceased.
It is unclear what informed the decision of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Major General M.L.D. Saraso to visit the family, and presented the sum of N300,000, probably, as compensation. However, we view the visit as premature, and the amount a paltry sum to compensate for a young boy, who may have turned out to be a president or governor, tomorrow, if he had been allowed a full circle of his life.
We excuse the family for accepting a monetary grant because, like many other Nigerians, they may be impoverished due to the biting economy and see the money as a lifesaver. In this period of hardship and hunger, people are ready to accept anything as a grant to meet their daily needs, more so in a family in which the deceased is said to be the sixth child.
While we commend the military for taking the initiative, first to admit responsibility in the shooting, and secondly visiting the family to condole them over the death of their son, it is also important to point out that such a move could have followed due process and the family duly compensated for the loss.
For instance, the military appears to be the complainant and the judge in the decision to deliver N300,000 to the family without first of all instituting an investigation to unravel the circumstances under which the trigger-happy soldier killed the boy. Such an investigation could have also decided on the appropriate compensation to the family.
Without such an investigation, the perpetrator(s) will go without reprimand or punishment, and it will embolden security personnel to continue to disregard rules of engagements while on special duties as in the case of Zaria.
Therefore, for justice to be done to the family of the late 16-year-old boy and to give the boy a peaceful rest, the issue should be revisited immediately. The Kaduna State Government and the military authority in the state should set up an investigative panel to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death, review the visit made by the GOC, and decide appropriate sanction for the perpetrator(s) and worthy compensation for the family.
This will assuage the feelings of the family and other Nigerians, who have viewed the N300,000 money delivered to the family as paltry, insulting, and utter disregard for human life.
