The reason why kinsmen, friends and relatives of very corrupt people still support them is because of the skewed sense of justice as exhibited by some people here in Nairaland, who support Ribadu's sense of justice.

I say that selective justice is no justice at all.

What selective justice breeds is sycophancy, and someone asks why all Nigerian politicians are sycophants and are tagged " any government in power". I condemn the persecution of Ibori, Ogbulafor (for an alleged crime he committed way back in 2003), the persecution of Ribadu, El-Rufai and even Bode George, while the likes of Odili, Sani Yerima, Alao Akala, Tony Anneni, are walking free enjoying their loot.

Nigerian political class is like a huge gang of armed robbers, it is only a member that is on the wrong side of the current powers that be that is labeled and persecuted. In that kind of arrangement corruption can only get worse not better.

The main aim of trying and punishing of a criminal is not to subject the criminal to suffering and humiliation but to reform him and make him see that his criminal activities is abhorred by the society. but mainly it is to serve as a detriment to others that are contemplating such corrupt activities. Once that detrimental factor is missing, corruption would continue to spread as it is doing today.

Fight against selective justice, it is the worse kind of corruption there is.

I agree with you 101%. This is a remarkably simple fact, but it depresses me that so many supposedly 'sensible' Nairalanders cannot understand it. Your inclusion of the picture of the scales of justice is a masterpiece: it explains everything. Justice is typically balanced, fair, impartial and objective. This is how it is in every serious country. If justice is DELIBERATELY selective, then that is not justice at all.

@ Wirinet -

I am dissapointed.

Am i to deduce that until the UTOPIAN, PERFECT AND IDEAL day dawns in Nigerian History, when EVERY CRIMINAL IS PROSECUTED AT THE SAME TIME, AND NOT EVEN ONE FOR PERSONAL REASONS - - - - - THEN WE SHOULD FOR NOW DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST IBORI AND CO? ? ? ?

Deep Sight:

@ Wirinet -

I am dissapointed.

Am i to deduce that until the UTOPIAN, PERFECT AND IDEAL day dawns in Nigerian History, when EVERY CRIMINAL IS PROSECUTED AT THE SAME TIME, AND NOT EVEN ONE FOR PERSONAL REASONS - - - - - THEN WE SHOULD FOR NOW DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST IBORI AND CO? ? ? ?

My dear fellow religious forum brother, i am surprised you are disappointed, since i assume we know each other fairly well.

Now are you saying the people that carved the statue of lady justice are foolish?

Before i go let me state one my my philosophies of life, it goes;

NOTHING IS PERFECT, BUT WE SHOULD ALWAYS STRIVE FOR PERFECTION.

Now, i know you are very philosophical in nature, so you would understand that most societies has passed through the level of social evolution we are going through and selective justice brought other societies to its knees. Even most religions laid very strong emphasis on true justice as against selective justice (of course our own variation of these religions preach selective justice).

Real justice should be institutional and not personal, that is the only way justice can work. You pass through the process if and when your are caught. For example Iwu was accused of withdrawing about N2.8 billion in one week without any reason, the institutions involved should immediately commence investigation and not wait to be prompted by higher powers. If it was found to be false, they should tell us so and if it has some merit, they should proceed naturally to the next level - the courts. Same should apply for the siemens and hailburton cases and also the Okigbo Report. They should not wait until somebody falls out with the government before they go and dust up the cases. That is does not mean prosecuting every body at the same time, and is not selective justice.

Remember the case of Tam David West? Babangida sent him to prison for accepting a gold wrist-watch and termed that bribery. Even Marwa was sent to EFCC detention for a very ridiculous charge for something he was alleged to have done in South Africa as a defense attache. Now what happened to Marwa after he reconciled with OBJ? where is he today.

You see it is this selective justice syndrome which you support that is responsible for the state we are in today, that no political office holder or civil servant can go against the wimps and caprices of their bosses. How do you think the National Assembly could attempt to impeach a sitting president the weapon of selective justice is hanging on every member's neck?

Selective justice was institutionalized by OBJ as a weapon against impeachment threats by the national assembly and his enemies. Remember he boasted just after being sworn in the second time, that he would never be threatened with impeachment again. and he fulfilled that promise.

So i still stand by my assertion, that SELECTIVE JUSTICE DESTROYS THE SOCIETY.

I hope you understand my views and reduce your disappointment a bit.

Justice is all about fair play, and to keep individuals within the boundaries of the laws of federal republic of Nigeria.

If the individuals you claim are being politically hunted feel they haven't committed any crime to begin with, then they wouldn't be behind the bars or even be on the run.

Either they are OBJ's enemy or not does not suffice in situations like this, they were thieves to begin with, and that in itself is what is wrong!

If i hold a public position and i haven't committed myself to looting the treasury , i wouldn't worry about making enemies with whoever i wish.

Why is the EFCC not going after the likes of Wole Soyinka?. . .afterall he's not friends with OBJ?

That said, I believe a permanent solution to issues like this is to grant the EFCC and ICPC powers of total autonomy on decisions. 

I'm also of the school of thought that issues surrounding selection and appointment of the chairman of the two bodies should solely be the responsibility of the ministry of Justice. The ministry should also set up a governing body to supervise such appointment and make sure that only individuals that are clearly without a biased mindset are selected.

Besides that, i'm also of the opinion that the EFCC should be made to disclose all its cases to the public, and the outcome of such cases.

wirinet:
Now are you saying the people that carved the statue of lady justice are foolish?

Justice is what it is: and indeed I do have some grasp of the subject, having studied both natural and positive jurisprudence. But even jurisprudence I must state is vastly limited when it comes to the practical realities of the development of social psychology.

I need you make something clear: BALANCE – in two senses – societal and individual.

Societal Balance of Justice demands that that which is good for the goose should be good for the gander in a just society – for this reason it is incontestable that we all desire that ALL corrupt elements be equally prosecuted.

Individual Balance of Justice demands that each man individually will reap what he sows: a karmic effect if you like – namely that if you jump up you will fall down, and that what goes around comes around.

Thus in the first sense we speak about societal equality, social justice. In the second sense we speak of justice to the individual.

I posit to you that the fact that justice at the societal level has not, or cannot be attained is no grounds to reject the application of justice to specific individual cases.

In this regard I will further argue that THERE IS NO SOCIETY where perfect justice at the societal level HAS EVER been attained.

I therefore contend that if you will hinge your argument on this: then we will be faced with a situation whereat we must summarily cease to apply justice at the individual level waiting eternally for the elusive day when mankind can do perfect justice at the societal level.

Real justice should be institutional and not personal, that is the only way justice can work. You pass through the process if and when your are caught. For example Iwu was accused of withdrawing about N2.8 billion in one week without any reason, the institutions involved should immediately commence investigation and not wait to be prompted by higher powers. If it was found to be false, they should tell us so and if it has some merit, they should proceed naturally to the next level - the courts. Same should apply for the siemens and hailburton cases and also the Okigbo Report. They should not wait until somebody falls out with the government before they go and dust up the cases. That is does not mean prosecuting every body at the same time, and is not selective justice.

Are you not contradicting yourself here?

In one breadth you acknowledged that other societies have been through phases of selective justice.

In another breadth you condemn the selective justice ongoing in these parts as being unacceptable even at this time.

I ask you: is it your expectation that Nigeria would leap-frog natural social developmental processes by magic, and suddenly have a perfect and just system such as you have described above? Of course not! This is going to take years, decades, if not centuries, as it has elsewhere.
Now here is the critical question: in the intervening time, what do we do? Do we declare – “well folks, we are not yet mature enough to deliver perfect and non-selective justice, thus all men to your tents, and no man will be prosecuted for anything”? ? ? ? ? ?

That is clearly impossible. Rather I have previously posited that as is natural for every developing society we will start with primitive vendettas and personal retributions – as is the case now – and these retributions will in themselves constitute a check and balance on the system: whereat each man for the selfish aim of protecting his own interest will realize that he is safer if he stays away from acts such as corruption, so that his enemies can pin nothing on him. As time passes the process refines itself gradually, and the institutions witch-hunting those corrupt persons grow stronger and stronger over-time through the exposure of this or that corrupt person. In the fullness of time we have a situation where the institutions take full reign over the personalities.

This is not going to happen overnight: and I do not know if it will be completed even in our lifetimes. Elsewhere it has taken centuries.

But the two salient points to the issue are these –

1. NOWHERE, AND IN NO SOCIETY has perfection in this regard ever been achieved: in other words EVEN in the societies that you imagine justice works perfectly: this is not the case – there is EVERYDAY in EVERY NATION UP TILL TODAY, much selective justice, and this is a FACT. Would you thus suggest that the prosecution of criminals in those societies should be condemned, on account of the fact that selective justice still occurs? ? ? ?

2. Whilst we strive towards perfection; wherever at the individual level a corrupt case is found, and the State garners the nerve (for whatever reasons) to prosecute it, such should not be condemned as it is part of the gradual process that will eventually ensure a less corrupt society. One less thief is always a gain.

The best that we should do is bay loudly for the blood of the others as well.

wirinet:

NOTHING IS PERFECT, BUT WE SHOULD ALWAYS STRIVE FOR PERFECTION.

Now, i know you are very philosophical in nature, so you would understand that most societies has passed through the level of social evolution we are going through and selective justice brought other societies to its knees.

In the context of the present topic, I beg to disagree very slightly with the the bolded parts of the above quote.  I disagree with the idea that no country is perfect, or that (as some people argue) only a utopia can have a perfect justice system; that is not essentially true. In the sense in which I understand ‘selective justice’, there are FAR TOO MANY countries that have a 99.9% perfect, fair, equitable and unbiased social justice systems. One funny example comes to mind – Bill Clinton, the \President and Commander in Chief of the most powerful country in the world was humiliated, impeached by congress and almost removed from office for the laughably trivial ‘normal thing’ of bleeping one yeye girl called Monica Lewinsky, and then lying about it. Yet this nonsense was sufficient to deal with 'a whole' president; if selectivity cannot be applied for Mr. President himself, then who would it be applied for? Yet some people are here implying that selective justice exists everywhere. Indeed. Can the Bill Clinton episode ever ever ever happen in Nigeria? I choke with laughter abeg.

Just to make it clear, let me illustrate what selective justice means:

Ten individuals commit a crime. Along the line, petitions bearing ample evidence are levelled against each of these ten individuals, and these petitions and accusations are even made public in such a way that everyone knows that all ten individuals are suspected felons. Along the line, ONLY three of the ten are arrested – with much fanfare and sensationalism – and prosecuted for their alleged crime. They are probably guilty, fine; but why hasn’t the other seven been arrested in the same manner? The government and/or law enforcement agencies either ignore this question, or provide blatantly irrational justifications for their obvious prejudice and deliberate reluctance to arrest the other seven. This is an instance of selective justice, and I confidently assert that this CAN NEVER HAPPEN IN SO MANY ORGANIZED COUNTRIES, never mind utopia.

Now, consider the alternate scenario which some people wrongly confuse with the foregoing example:

Ten individuals commit a crime. In the process of committing the crime, five of them manage to commit the perfect crime: they leave no clues and make it impossible to find evidence associating them with such a crime. Another two manage to escape justice by running away to some Island in Fiji. The remaining three are unlucky enough to be caught and tangible evidence found against them. All three are charged to court, but two of them manage to hire a Johnny Cochran type of lawyer who adroitly argues their innocence and miraculously manages to convince the court that the evidence put forward by the prosecutors is insufficient to establish their guilt. These two are therefore discharged and acquitted. In the end, only one is convicted and jailed.  And so while ten people committed this same crime, only one is punished. Is this selective justice? NO!!!! This is where the issue of “perfection” comes in: No country’s law enforcement mechanism or criminal justice system can ever be perfect and foolproof. But where is the bias or ‘selectivity here?

Therefore I do not canvass for a perfect law enforcement and criminal justice mechanism - that is impossible to attain. But I vehemently insist on a PERFECTLY IMPARTIAL system in which where sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and where you MUST be punished insofar as you are caught / identified as having committed a crime. Any one who justifies selective justice under whatever guise is not looking at the matter very critically.

As regards other societies having gone through the "level of social evolution we are going through", that is probably true. But do you know why they went through that phase? It was because they were pioneers! They had no models to copy - so they hard to grind it out and go through trial and error until they devised institutional systems that now guide them, Even at that, they had a great deal of revolutionary elements that shed blood to get rid of the corrupt establishment and establish a new social order. Arising from this, I find it very ridiculous for anyone to insist that we have to pas through the same development phases that the First World countries passed through. WE DON'T HAVE TO. Why? Because they have offered us paradigms and models that we can copy. Its just like saying that a contemporary car designer should go through the same trial and error phases that Henry Ford went through in 1909. That is laughable.

In summary, we need a revolution, and only the masses can bring about this. Anyone that wants to wait for the political class to checkmate themselves and cancel each other out as a way of ending corruption would wait till Judgment day.

Poster, I identify with you.

@OP

there is nothing like selective justice. . . That is your perception of justice which is extremely subjective. (that is why we need the law to prove that the people to be punished are indeed guilty of the crimes which they are accused) From that, you'll see another aspect to justice, and that is law enforcement, which has to be up to par to be able to locate and arrest the criminals with enough evidence to guarantee a conviction.

Justice is something which is continuous, and all over the world you find criminals in operation despite "justice". This happens because of the steps involved in the whole justice process. These steps seem long, but i know it was put in place to protect people from being wrongly accused, therefore, you have to prove a person guilty beyond reasonable doubt before you can have them convicted. That doesn't imply selective justice, it only confirms that it is a continuous and sometimes slow process which will continue to consume the criminally minded.

And to create a balance in life, as justice catches up with criminals, new criminals will be made.

So, the fact that some criminal roams free today says absolutely nothing about the process of justice, because the process never stops, and tomorrow just might be their unlucky day!

Op

I doubt you will find one person who truly support selective justice in this country. Everyone wants all the criminals behind bars if possible most of them to be summarily executed.

But unfortunately we do not live in an ideal society, and I agree with you on the need to strive for perfection but while we are at it, we cannot discard the present epileptic Jungle Justice system.

To do that will mean we should free all those presently behind bars, give presidential pardon to all those who have completed their jail terms and wait till we have a perfect judicial system.

I support your fight against selective justice, but let us use it to call for the arrest of other criminals and not to use it as an excuse to free those ones presently facing the law.

^^^Gbam! Beautifully summarized!

OAM4J:

Op

I doubt you will find one person who truly support selective justice in this country. Everyone wants all the criminals behind bars if possible most of them to be summarily executed.

I disagree with the above. The system is the way it is today because there is support for what we have today. The GodFather mentality thrives on selective justice.

OAM4J:

But unfortunately we do not live in an ideal society, and I agree with you on the need to strive for perfection but while we are at it, we cannot discard the present epileptic Jungle Justice system.

The system is currently epileptic, so isn't we are striving against?

OAM4J:
To do that will mean we should free all those presently behind bars, give presidential pardon to all those who have completed their jail terms and wait till we have a perfect judicial system.

Why would we need to free all those presently behind bars for committing crimes in order to obtain a system that ensures all criminals are prosecuted, no matter their political or economic affiliations?
We already have a system -- We have solid laws, all that is wrong at the moment is that it is being used by those in power to advance their own course and punish those who do not ride along with them.

wirinet:

What selective justice breeds is sycophancy, and someone asks why all Nigerian politicians are sycophants and are tagged " any government in power".

OAM4J:

The main aim of trying and punishing of a criminal is not to subject the criminal to suffering and humiliation but to reform him and make him see that his criminal activities is abhorred by the society. but mainly it is to serve as a detriment to others that are contemplating such corrupt activities. Once that detrimental factor is missing, corruption would continue to spread as it is doing today.

Kobojunkie:

Why would we need to free all those presently behind bars for committing crimes in order to obtain a system that ensures all criminals are prosecuted, no matter their political or economic affiliations?
We already have a system -- We have solid laws, all that is wrong at the moment is that it is being used by those in power to advance their own course and punish those who do not ride along with them.

Good! then lets fight the real battle and stop the show of sympathy for the likes of Ibori. Let's address the real problem, make enough noise so that the law will be enforced on all the guilty.

My grouse is when we start making the likes of Ibori looks like victims instead of looking at the likes of IBB, Odili, Tinubu & co as benefactors of unfair system.

The question should be 'Why cant you arrest IBB, Odili, Obj & co if you can arrest Ibori?' instead of 'why did you arrest Ibori when others are still free?'- Emphasis should be on those who are still free not on those already arrested.

wirinet:



The reason why kinsmen, friends and relatives of very corrupt people still support them is because of the skewed sense of justice as exhibited by some people here in Nairaland, who support Ribadu's sense of justice.

I say that selective justice is no justice at all.

What selective justice breeds is sycophancy, and someone asks why all Nigerian politicians are sycophants and are tagged " any government in power". I condemn the persecution of Ibori, Ogbulafor (for an alleged crime he committed way back in 2003), the persecution of Ribadu, El-Rufai and even Bode George, while the likes of Odili, Sani Yerima, Alao Akala, Tony Anneni, are walking free enjoying their loot.

Nigerian political class is like a huge gang of armed robbers, it is only a member that is on the wrong side of the current powers that be that is labeled and persecuted. In that kind of arrangement corruption can only get worse not better.

The main aim of trying and punishing of a criminal is not to subject the criminal to suffering and humiliation but to reform him and make him see that his criminal activities is abhorred by the society. but mainly it is to serve as a detriment to others that are contemplating such corrupt activities. Once that detrimental factor is missing, corruption would continue to spread as it is doing today.

Fight against selective justice, it is the worse kind of corruption there is.   

LOOOOOOOOL

I hope you are not going to take offence but I feel I just need to make an observation: your idea of justice seems to be selective too. No offence, but I find it a tad patronising when people come on and yarn unecessarily long gist and feel it is enlightenment when even the market woman with no education would probably have been able to say thesame thing with even more depth. Here is the reason why I say your idea of justice seems to be selective. The police man on the road who collects twenty naira, the civil servant who takes bribe in secratariats, the customs official who also takes bribe to look the other way, the citizen who pays bribes, ghost workers, etc. Do you know how endemic corruption really is in Nigeria? So why does your scope seem to only encapsulate well known political office holders and stop there? Why is it that to you selective justice only applies to going after Ibori or Ribadu or El Rufai; while leaving Odilli, Obasanjo, Annenih etc? Why? Do you know how many people are in Nigerian prisons today awaiting a court hearing? And your justification for that essay you posted above is that justice is selective unless everybody is prosecuted at the same time? What rubbish.

If you agree that corruption needs to involve everyone, then do you believe Nigerian courts and law enforcement agencies have the capacity to actually carry out a cleansing of the country at thesame time? Must we leave logic at the door just to defend Ibori and co? I see what you were trying to say but I am simply stating that everybody knows justice has to pursue the corrupt dilligently and with nor recourse for favouritism, etc. However, here are some things to consider. A fight against corruption is better than no fight against corruption and it always has to start from somewhere. In such genuine fights against corruption only people who are guilty should have reasons to be afraid and flee the country. There has to be a system before we talk of improving a system. So unless you have the courthouses, judges, lawyers, police officers, sss officers, extra holding cells and other resources that would be able to supplement a system that does not seem able to cope with what it already has to cope with, I suggest you spare us the patronising essays. In light of such I really would have to say all that pontificating above is condenscending to the point of being insulting.

OAM4J:

Good! then lets fight the real battle and stop the show of sympathy for the likes of Ibori. Let's address the real problem, make enough noise so that the law will be enforced on all the guilty.

My grouse is when we start making the likes of Ibori looks like victims instead of looking at the likes of IBB, Odili, Tinubu & co as benefactors of unfair system.

The question should be 'Why cant  you arrest IBB, Odili, Obj & co if you can arrest Ibori?' instead of 'why did you arrest Ibori when others are still free?'- Emphasis should be on those who are still free not on those already arrested.

Point. That is what I find irritating too. Very very well put and pretty much sums it all up. The system should be improved, but its inefficiency should never be used as a justification for letting people like Ibori off the hook, when in fact if there was a perfect and utopian system Ibori would still be trying to run away.

There is absolutely no way in which every criminal can be prosecuted at once. . .Selective justice is inevitable and it exists in almost every society. As Jonathan is president today, you cannot expect him to arrest his wife or his close allies but you can be sure that when he leaves power and a new cabal takes over, he would be running around like Ibori.

No system is perfect and it would be foolish to wait until our justice system becomes perfect before we start prosecuting criminals. Selective justice or no selective justice, as long as those persecuted are criminals, I am ok with it. . . Who ever thought Bode George would go the way he went? . .no one ever thought he would fall out with his master OBJ but he did and he was swept by the hurricane immediately. We really have to be patient in Nigeria.

I strongly believe that when the ruling cabal finishes persecuting their enemies, they will start persecuting themselves. . .

OAM4J:

'Why cant you arrest IBB, Odili, Obj & co if you can arrest Ibori?' instead of 'why did you arrest Ibori when others are still free?'- Emphasis should be on those who are still free not on those already arrested.

Answer : Because we have a system that caters to the group that favours 'IBB, Odili, OBj and CO' at the moment -- these men have learnt how to play the game and even as power has changed hands, they have learnt themselves to switch sides when necessary.

While I agree with you. I still believe it is right to stress the fact that selective justice is reason for what we have and see today. . . and it is doing serious damage to our country. On this, I am with the OP that selective Justice is no justice. 

obailala:

I strongly believe that when the ruling cabal finishes persecuting their enemies, they will start persecuting themselves. . .

When? Before you know it, power changes hands again --- these politicians jump ship so they can get on board with the new power and another cycle begins.

^^
Very simply put!

I am still surprised that people have not been able to quantify the damage selective justice has done to us as a nation. Even with all the accolades Ribadu got, in real terms there was no reduction in corruption, even at the height of Ribadu's reign. What happened was that while an infinitesimal number of political enemies were whipped in line, the vast majority were much more brazen in their corruption.

Although i recognized that societies evolve from primitive selective justice societies, we do not always have to reinvent the wheel. Those societies made those mistakes because they do not have enough information that we posses today, that is why i hate the argument that we need 200years to learn to do democracy right because the USA "perfected" same after more than 200 yrs. If we are really serious, we could achieve "perfection"  in a very short time - even at first try.

'Why cant you arrest IBB, Odili, Obj & co if you can arrest Ibori?' instead of 'why did you arrest Ibori when others are still free?'- Emphasis should be on those who are still free not on those already arrested.

Because  IBB, Odili, Obj & co would not go against the current power lord in Aso Rock, they would not unnecessarily provoke a ruling government . Ibori on the other hand took miscalculated risk by putting all his oranges in Yara dua's basket. If Yaradua had won, i am sure he would have reaped massive political and financial gains (like he did during Yaradua's election)

The poster's argument cannot be sensibly opposed.

Selective justice is wrong and only increases injustice.

Instead of "no justice," I would rather call it "Partial justice" and Partial justice is far better than no justice.

Kobojunkie:


When? Before you know it, power changes hands again --- these politicians jump ship so they can get on board with the new power and another cycle begins.

one day while jumping ship, they would miscalculate and fall into the sea. . .Bode G miscalculated and he's now languishing. Ibori also miscalculated and he's presently struggling to stay afloat. There would definitely be more victims. This method might be slow but it's the only option we have.

Cohomology:

The poster's argument cannot be sensibly opposed.

Selective justice is wrong and only increases injustice.

So what do you propose?. . that Ibori and co should be freed pending when we have a flawless justice system?

obailala:

Instead of "no justice," I would rather call it "Partial justice" and Partial justice is far better than no justice.

Partial implies these criminals, to some extent, are being punished for the main crimes they committed against the people or the nation, but you and I know that is not the case with most of these cases. A man bilks the country of billions and you bring him down by sending him to jail for paying $2 to a clerk some 10 years ago. COME ON!!!

obailala:

one day while jumping ship, they would miscalculate and fall into the sea. . .Bode G miscalculated and he's now languishing. Ibori also miscalculated and he's presently struggling to stay afloat. There would definitely be more victims. This method might be slow but it's the only option we have.

One day? lol
Do you realize how many more of these criminals have learnt how to better play sides by the examples you give above? How much of the money Ibori supposedly stole will be recovered at the end of the day? This case will probably go the way those in the past have. We may not get back a quarter of all he has stolen from us. The government may be more desperate to get rid of them, and not really interested in going after the loot at this time, or ever.  You might even run into his family somewhere out in the west, living large on the money that was never really returned, and beyond the reach of the government.

obailala:

So what do you propose?. . that Ibori and co should be freed pending when we have a flawless justice system?

I don't understand this question. Is he guilty? If Yes, why should he be freed? Having a flawed justice system in no way means all criminals are to be set free. The system we have currently works against true justice - when you have criminals making the laws and deciding when it should be implemented and who should be prosecuted next, you have a system causing more damage than good. 

There is a saying that Half Bread is better than none . . . in this case, that does not apply. Half Justice is no better than none. In our case, this system continues to help create more criminal politicians, and move power more and more into the hands of these criminals-- away from the people.

yeah! poster, you got it spot on.

in a crazy and warped society like ours, it is either we round up all the thieving  mofo idiots in one fell swoop or we keep quiet and look on so that we are not called silly names like selective justicer. i guess numb is the word so as not to hurt sentiments.

this numbness is killing hapless Nigerians in their hordes daily.

obailala:

So what do you propose?. . that Ibori and co should be freed pending when we have a flawless justice system?

So, is that the only alternative you see? If I tell you "the color is not white", so you'll jump up and shout the "color is black!". So, are there just two colors? This type of linear reasoning doesn't help.

To answer your question, all those who have broken the law should be arrested and prosecuted, applying due process and fair hearing.

Selective justice is unjust, but no justice is Chaos enthroned.

Half justice or even one quarter justice in this case is most certainly preferable to no justice.

So we will start somewhere and if that somewhere is with Ibori then so be it, let him FRY

komekn:

Selective justice is unjust, but no justice is Chaos enthroned.
Half justice or even one quarter justice in this case is most certainly preferable to no justice.

What do you think we have now? How logical is it?

komekn:

So we will start somewhere and if that somewhere is with Ibori then so be it, let him FRY

This is the same statement we uttered about 10 years ago. How long is this START going to last?

Cohomology:

So, is that the only alternative you see? If I tell you "the color is not white", so you'll jump up and shout the "color is black!". So, are there just two colors? This type of linear reasoning doesn't help.

To answer your question, all those who have broken the law should be arrested and prosecuted, applying due process and fair hearing.

I agree with the OP fight against selective Justice and I also agree with the bold. The challenge is to get this government to do the bold.

But while we do that, and whichever way we choose to do it, let us not send a wrong signal that we are against the arrest of the current 'selected' criminals.

OAM4J:

I agree with the OP fight against selective Justice and I also agree with the bold. The challenge is to get this government to do the bold.

But while we do that, and whichever way we choose to do it, let us not send a wrong signal that we are against the arrest of the current 'selected' criminals.

I don't believe anyone has so far said they are against the arrest of the CURRENT selected criminals. What I think some have said so far is that it all be DONE RIGHT. Don't prosecute him for maybe stealing a pencil when he was in high school so you can get him out of your way for now( probably 2 years in jail or something), after which we may not be able to get him for the real crimes he committed against the country, and in Ibori's case, the people of Bayelsa. If it is going to be done, let it be done right or not at all.

Cohomology:

So, is that the only alternative you see? If I tell you "the color is not white", so you'll jump up and shout the "color is black!". So, are there just two colors? This type of linear reasoning doesn't help.

To answer your question, all those who have broken the law should be arrested and prosecuted, applying due process and fair hearing.

Thank you jare. I was getting nauseated by the frequency with which they advance that linear reasoning. Your concise answer suffices; abundantly so.

Kobojunkie:

I don't believe anyone has so far said they are against the arrest of the CURRENT selected criminals. What I think some have said so far is that it all be DONE RIGHT. Don't prosecute him for maybe stealing a pencil when he was in high school so you can get him out of your way for now( probably 2 years in jail or something), after which we may not be able to get him for the outrageous crimes. If it is going to be done, let it be done right or not at all.

If this truly be the argument, then am done.

wirinet:

The reason why kinsmen, friends and relatives of very corrupt people still support them is because of the skewed sense of justice as exhibited by some people here in Nairaland, who support Ribadu's sense of justice.

No it is not! They support them because they benefit from the loot or if they had the chance they would do the same. Campaign against selective justice if you want, but don't suggest that no justice should be done as a result. It is a false choice. All law enforcement is selective in some sense - you are never going to be able to arrest all thieves if even they can't stop you in any way. In our case, you will have to spend the entire fortune of the state to find, capture and investigate all corrupt people in Nigeria of today. Even as you are crying selective justice the EFCC is crying out that they are overwhelmed by corruption cases (Punch - Saturday, 22 May 2010, "We’re overwhelmed by corruption cases – Waziri": You can read it here - [url]http://www.nigeriaanew.org/forum/index.php/topic,1652.msg1739.html#msg1739[/url]

Law enforcement is not really about capturing every offender in many cases (except for capital offenses and sexual crimes), but to stop the most egregious within available resources and instill the REAL fear that you have a more than 50:50 chance of getting caught in the rest. RIBADU FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NIGERIA'S HISTORY BROUGHT THAT ABOUT WITHIN A LEGITIMATE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE. It wasn't perfect, but it was a GREAT start. This cry of selective justice is the excuse Yar'adua latched on to, along with his "tout" AG. See where that got us. When they replaced Ribadu at EFCC all the thieves breathed a sigh of relief - she scared no one from merrily going about their way of looting, and they called it DUE PROCESS.

The only justice that is not justice is injustice - if you were speeding with your frieds and the police could only get one of you. Guess what? - you are it.

[size=14pt]The sincere fight is to call for increased perfection of the system, not to suggest letting one cancer off because you couldn't get another. The latter is too two-faced to be sincere.[/size]

Ribadu, and now Waziri, operated under the bosses that appointed them - let's campaign for improving the system and avoid  giving succour to those who don't give a damn about the populace.

What selective justice breeds is sycophancy, and someone asks why all Nigerian politicians are sycophants and are tagged " any government in power". I condemn the persecution of Ibori, Ogbulafor (for an alleged crime he committed way back in 2003), the persecution of Ribadu, El-Rufai and even Bode George, while the likes of Odili, Sani Yerima, Alao Akala, Tony Anneni, are walking free enjoying their loot.

This argument is twisted. Syncophancy is an ADULT NIGERIAN, not born today, and is what leads to selective justice - not the other way round.

Nigerian political class is like a huge gang of armed robbers, it is only a member that is on the wrong side of the current powers that be that is labeled and persecuted. In that kind of arrangement corruption can only get worse not better.

Worse than if you let all of them go about merrily looting? Surely, you are kidding? Right?

The main aim of trying and punishing of a criminal is not to subject the criminal to suffering and humiliation but to reform him and make him see that his criminal activities is abhorred by the society. but mainly it is to serve as a detriment to others that are contemplating such corrupt activities. Once that detrimental factor is missing, corruption would continue to spread as it is doing today.

The way I see it is this. At the begining such selective justice is going to lead to tit-for-tat. Remember there is no honor among thieves. OBJ was seen as pursuing Yar'adua's friend, Ibori, so Yar'adua shielded him and did nothing to stop Bode George's trial. Now Ibori is running helter-skelter. Guess what we got them both! Soon they will realize that either they straighten up or eventually pay for their crimes. If your people get me today my people will get you tomorrow. Eventually, the people would demand and GET an impartial, effective and non-interruptible system, but not if they say let them all go until we have complete justice.

Fight against selective justice, it is the worse kind of corruption there is.

By all means, but that is not the same as giving pity to the likes of Tafa Balogu and Ibori