Dblock pray you never witness robbers in action OO, if you witness them you go forget forgiveness o!

sherry lo:

Dblock pray you never witness robbers in action OO, if you witness them you go forget forgiveness o!

What are u inferring.

Are you justifying mob action, or citing that robbers in action are even worse?

Let me ask: was it ever part of our law to arrest someone in lieu of someone else? Nigeria stinks!

nobilia:

Na wah oo, Na because say I talk my own piece u dey give me this deadly analysis?

So after saying this

nobilia:

I don't know if some people lack sense or just living a life of tickle and jests.

You are hypocritical enough to complain when someone gives it back to you?

You need to develop a sense of humour. It helps.

This Rule is not good for the following reasons;

First and foremost, we as Nigerians are crazy people. The smallest power you hand us and we think our new name is Peter Petrelli. Look at people already talking about arresting the Police, arresting university chicks for indecent exposure, e.t.c. Whats next?? Landlord will arrest his tennant who just bought a new CD player for disturbing the peace, wifes will arrest their husbands for suspicion of infidelity, Armed robbers will even start arresting house owners for illegal pessesion of a fire arm, children will even arrest their parents who sent them on an errand for child abuse. The chaos will be uncontrollable.

After the arrest is made where will they be detained?? Every lagosian will start carrying a pair of handcuffs around with them. Even street hawkers will start selling cuffs on the road.

Esss:

This Rule is not good for the following reasons;

First and foremost, we as Nigerians are crazy people. The smallest power you hand us and we think our new name is Peter Petrelli. Look at people already talking about arresting the Police, arresting university chicks for indecent exposure, e.t.c. Whats next?? Landlord will arrest his tennant who just bought a new CD player for disturbing the peace, wifes will arrest their husbands for suspicion of infidelity, Armed robbers will even start arresting house owners for illegal pessesion of a fire arm, children will even arrest their parents who sent them on an errand for child abuse. The chaos will be uncontrollable.

After the arrest is made where will they be detained?? Every lagosian will start carrying a pair of handcuffs around with them. Even street hawkers will start selling cuffs on the road.

ROFLMAO!!!! I am so counting the days to the start of next season of "Heroes" this fall. ROFLMAO!!!

It is sad that despite all the billions spent on Nigerian education in the last decades, most of my countrymen are still not capable of joined up thinking.

The reason armed robbers are so brutal in Nigeria is because they could see the barbaric "justice" meted out to their unlucky members who get caught by the public. If an armed robber sees the video posted by redhotchick and then goes on operation the next day just how brutal do you think that armed robber will be to his victims. They might be armed robbers but they are still human and would take revenge.

I performed a citizens arrest on a bloke in London while working as a security guard, when i told the guy that in my country they burn thieves, he said we must be really stupid then because if he was a thief in my country , he would carry a gun and shoot the security guard and everybody that try to arrest him.
There are many people on this board that always jump up to defend Nigeria despite it being clear that Nigerians have turned the country into a shithole with their corruption, greed and barbarity Dont you guys understand that in order to be a change one must realize that things are wrong in the first place.
After watching that video i now think the country should be renamed Moronia and that the U.N should isolate that part of the world to protect the cerebral integrity of the human race. Nigerian population keeps exploding without the necessary additional infrastructure and resources to accomodate the exponential population growth . There should be worldwide legislation against such rampant stupidity and against having children in such corrupt environment.

Babalegba your post here is by FAR the best of this entire thread.   While cynical minded folks like me can only sit in amused resignation to poke fun at the moronic laws that get passed in Nigeria, you have pointed out that there is a logical cause and effect relationship between the sort of arbitrary vigilante "justice" that  has existed for decades in Nigeria, and the ferocity with which criminals unleash their own retribution back on a society that condones mob attacks on people who in other lands would face due process in the court of law.

I did not watch the video of mob justice in this thread because I have seen many times with my own eyes  the charred smoking bodies of accused petty thieves lying in the African sun after being set upon by baying mobs that very often include CHILDREN.  Back when I was far too naive and idealistic for my own good,  I stopped my vehicle at such a scene to pass a comment about the unproven nature of the allegations that led to such frightening savagery.  But for my truck's V8 power that enabled me to flee the scene at high speed, the remaining bystanders gloating over the smoldering corpses of their victims would have  beaten me to death as my own punishment for questioning the madness of the mob.

Yes sir indeed Babalegba, MORONIA would be a very fitting name for what is left of Nigeria, a country in darkness both literally due to a final and total national electrical blackout caused by the looting of all funds intended to generate power, but also in darkness figuratively, on account of the black void in the soul and psyche of a people who have been reduced by deprivation and profound ignorance to the status of care-free potential murderers that stalk their sewer-lined, trash-filled streets fervently praying for ANYONE to be falsely accused of ANYTHING so that they can unleash the accumulated rage of their piteous existence by instantly ganging up to murder a probably innocent person on the strength of an anonymous shouted condemnation of "OLE ! or BARAWO or ONYOSHI! " ( thief ).   

As pointed out, citizen's arrest powers do exist in other countries, but it is extremely rare indeed to see such an event take place, given that such civilian interventions invariably occur only when the arrested person had to be stopped from disorderly conduct until the arrival of summoned police officers who would take the offender into custody.  That sort of mild intervention by non-police officers is NOT an option for a backward and utterly lawless place like Nigeria where daylight mob murder is ALREADY condoned, and has been for years, and where people are conditioned by a climate of impunity and their own omnipresent rage to unhesitatingly attack and kill for nonsensical and absurdly superstitious reasons such as the very common cry of "genital thief", that alone has accounted for the deaths of dozens, if not hundreds of innocent Nigerians.

Assigning arbitrary, "user defined" arrest powers to Nigerian civilians would be an act of judicial madness, and would give IDEAL cover for kindnappers, ritual murderers and rapists to attack and abduct victims in broad daylight under the pretext of making legal " citizen's arrests".   Whoever it was that proposed granting arrest powers to everyone IN LAGOS Nigeria, of all places, is both deranged and dangerous, and must be medicated and put to pasture quickly.

In the Nigerian, and dare I say African context, citizen arrest powers = ANARCHY.

The law is good and bad. After reading the post of Babalegba and the reply by Jakumo I think, another law is still needed to make this new law work effectively. The law should be certain number of years of imprisonment to people (at least Landlords and Heads) of the area that condone the mob of thieves. Don't say this is too harsh, the truth is that only God knows the number of innocents that have been burnt alive for offences they never committed.

If a punishment like the one stated above (with no fine options) exists, the mob activities will definitely be checked and eliminated.

Lagos State Union of Citizen Arresters (LSUCA)

Membership fee- 2,000 monthly
Form - 500
Id Card with photo and badge - 200
First 4 handcuffs - supplied free. replacements only 8,000 each

Interested members of the public to buy form at the secretariat office or contact me
for more information.

We also require lawyers, accountants and representatives in all local government areas for immediate mobilization.


LSUCA for a better Lagos

Jakumo
Nice response. We rarely see serious posts as yours. No intention to flatter you. One of the hoped-for effects of internet penetration is the growth of dialogue, exchange of ideas and development of momentum for change. Looking at the way things are now, one sincerely wonders, do we have a society that is ready to change the situation, or do we have one in which people are simply waiting for a chance to get there and pillage as the others have done?
A chief judge, with an expectedly high level of social and intellectual intelligence would come out and spew such nonsense in a city like lagos with its tensions and a people known for their short fuse when it comes to dealing with alleged thieves,is sad and needs to be pushed aside.

It all goes to show the quality of our so-called leaders.
We need to ask ourselves what can we really do to change the country? Not in an ambitiously grandiose way, but at the local level, where you can deal with the LG officials with their misplaced arrogance, and sack the LG chairman for non-performance, or whatever. But act we need to act.

It is shameful that a law that has been in existence since the creation of the first criminal code for the country can now be rephrased and touted as a "new" Lagos state law. Citizen's arrest is not a new thing, it has been in the Nigerian law since God knows when. Proxy arrest has never been authorized in our criminal code. Never. It used to happen under an illegitimate government, military regime. It never was Nigerian law to arrest one person for another person's crime. Lawyers in the house should step up to the plate and educate us.

@redhotchic
Why did you post this? it is is truly disturbing, you've succeeded in damping my mood and traumatising me.

I did warn you, didn't I?

Jakumo:

The law authorizing citizen's arrest in Lagos state gives every pervert out there free rein to "arrest" women spotted wearing revealing clothes, or deemed to be of questionable character.  I'm emigrating to Lagos right now to enforce morality there.

u are sooo right? Am patiently waiting though for all these changes, it is one thing to have a good leader with good intentions, it is another thing to have law abiding citizens that would abide by the rules.
Trust Lagosians gra gra , wuru wuru, over sharpness na him dey mess them up. Sides that Lagos would have been a wonderfull place. But i'll stick to Abuja if you ask thank you. I cant stand the touts and hold up anymore.

trust nigerians living abroad to be the first in critisising everything the government does,they wont lift a finger to change anything but as soon as the news gets on the nairaland politics forum they ll have a field day,
they are quick to compare the police in america and britain to the ones in nigeria and talk about useless the nigerian police are,they will continually rant about how mentally lazy nigerians are for believeing GOD will change situations without doing anything about it,the lagos state government has now given the power for citizens to keep a watch on each other,and chastise each other and people on here are saying its wrong,
i have seen disabled people in lagos taking controll of controlling traffic,in ques at the fuel station the average lagosian taking controll of enforcing the queue,dont forget criminals live amongst normal people and if anyone can and will reduce crime it has to start with the average lagosian,if i saw someone committing a crime rather than wait for a police that might not come or take too long in coming,ill call 2 or 3 people and we ll arrest the criminal and take him to the station, this happens everywhere in the world so i dont know what the ranting and raving is about
the shoe bomber,didnt the citizen arrest him?
go to these english villages or outside london,the old white women will sit facing their windows 23 hours of the day and they help the police more as witnesses than any video camera

lucabrasi:

if i saw someone committing a crime rather than wait for a police that might not come or take too long in coming,ill call 2 or 3 people and we ll arrest the criminal and take him to the station,

The next time you see Police driving 'one way' or taking bribes at a check pointt, kindly remember this pledge and apprehend the criminals, ok?

Can anyone here tell me what stops three Area boys from conspiring together to 'arrest' innocent pedestrians on trumped up charges for the purpose of extortion?

Or three 'passers-by' from arresting people that buy secondhand phones in Computer Village on suspicion of theft.

texazzpete:

Can anyone here tell me what stops three Area boys from conspiring together to 'arrest' innocent pedestrians on trumped up charges for the purpose of extortion?

Or three 'passers-by' from arresting people that buy secondhand phones in Computer Village on suspicion of theft.

What will stop them is that when they arrest and hand over to the police, the matter will be investigated and if found to be untrue, they (Area Boys/passers-by) will now be arrested by the police for making false arrest and giving false information to mislead the police.

I factor in that most of us here especially those living outside the shores of this country continue to think and believe that this country is a shithole filled with retarded babarians. It is a pity

texazzpete:

The next time you see Police driving 'one way' or taking bribes at a check pointt, kindly remember this pledge and apprehend the criminals, ok?

typical, of everything i wrote thats the only phrase that made any meaning to you,

the fact that a law/statute is in effect doesnt mean everybody will go outside arresting one another,the stop and search law here in britain,even though a lot of minorities fit the profile has every asian male being searched?
or the 42 days law for suspected terrorist,does it mean all terror suspects with enough evidence are kept for 42 days?
the law is meant to be a guideline which the society works within,in this case its encouraging the lagosians to follow the law rather than jungle justice,and also for the average lagosian to be patriotic and watchful,

youngies:

What will stop them is that when they arrest and hand over to the police, the matter will be investigated and if found to be untrue, they (Area Boys/passers-by) will now be arrested by the police for making false arrest and giving false information to mislead the police.

I factor in that most of us here especially those living outside the shores of this country continue to think and believe that this country is a shithole filled with retarded babarians. It is a pity

thanks a lot man u r awesome, the funny thing is that these same people are the first to always critisise nigerians for being too docile and accepting everything,the state govt has empowered the average lagosians and people are shoutingwithout any cogent concerns

@lucabrasi

Their mindset is typical, you can't do much about it.

@lucabrasi, youngies
When you see Nigerians in prison for two years for 'wandering', simply because no one could post bail for them, then you'll realise that idealism should be mixed with common sense.

Wasn;t it a wise man who once said "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".

There are ways this law can be abused. And believe me, it will be abused.

@lucabrasi
Kindly elaborate how this law is meant to dissuade Jungle justice. Afterall, jungle justice victims could quite easily have been handed over to the police in the past.

It's far safer for a human being to be cynical than for him to see the world through rose tinted glasses. Hopefully it will not be a bitter experience that robs you of your naivete.

i dont think you have been to lagos in the last couple of years because no one gets arrested for wandering these days,there are police raids with specific targets like prostitutes,particular joints or hideouts.
no one is saying the law is perfect but at least there is a law they can fall back on,
is there any law that cannot be abused?look around you everywhere in the world, how many times have people cried for a review of human rights because its letting the wrong people off the hook especially during the terror attacks

its meant to dissuage jungle justice cause rather than throwing a tyre round the neck of a suspected criminal,they ll be handed over to the law enforcement.
the average lagosian will have a heightened sense of patriotism, it will take time before lagos gets to a stage where someone will tell you to pick up litter and what not but they ll get there
even if a landlord is not aware of what his tenants are up to maybe cause he doesnt live in same building,you know fellow tenants,neighbours e.t.c are in a better position to know if a particular tenant is up to no good,or might be involved in criminal activities,when you know people are watching you and anything you do at any time,it will deter you from committing crimes
rather than blaming the government for everything,the masses have a chance to do something to better their lot and deter crime
i could go on and on,

I guess this a good initiative. However, there should be clear cut guidelines on this to avoid innocent people getting victimized by overzealous citizens.

Such wide open powers are susceptible to abuse. We are fully aware of the police abusing its powers through arbitrary arrests and detention of persons. We'd better be careful.

lucabrasi:

i don't think you have been to lagos in the last couple of years because no one gets arrested for wandering these days,there are police raids with specific targets like prostitutes,particular joints or hideouts.
no one is saying the law is perfect but at least there is a law they can fall back on,
is there any law that cannot be abused?look around you everywhere in the world, how many times have people cried for a review of human rights because its letting the wrong people off the hook especially during the terror attacks

its meant to dissuage jungle justice cause rather than throwing a tyre round the neck of a suspected criminal,they ll be handed over to the law enforcement.
the average lagosian will have a heightened sense of patriotism, it will take time before lagos gets to a stage where someone will tell you to pick up litter and what not but they ll get there
even if a landlord is not aware of what his tenants are up to maybe cause he doesnt live in same building,you know fellow tenants,neighbours e.t.c are in a better position to know if a particular tenant is up to no good,or might be involved in criminal activities,when you know people are watching you and anything you do at any time,it will deter you from committing crimes
rather than blaming the government for everything,the masses have a chance to do something to better their lot and deter crime
i could go on and on,

i live in lagos where police can arrest a person for being in a cybercafe. where you must crry a receipt for any item over n50,000, where you do not want to meet the men in blak alone after 10pm.


area boys in cms have been arresting and gang raping women on and off for years.

youngies:

What will stop them is that when they arrest and hand over to the police, the matter will be investigated and if found to be untrue, they (Area Boys/passers-by) will now be arrested by the police for making false arrest and giving false information to mislead the police.

I factor in that most of us here especially those living outside the shores of this country continue to think and believe that this country is a shithole filled with retarded babarians. It is a pity

someone obviously has never met with the psychotuics we call police.

For those who claim to know more about life in Lagos than those who do not currently live in Lagos. Are you all speaking of the same Lagos where there are army officers currently parked with armoured vehicle, right next to the round about to deter people from congregating as they used to You sure say this na the same lagos una dey talk of like say people dey all civil and what not?? ROFLMAO!!

oyb:

i live in lagos where police can arrest a person for being in a cybercafe. where you must crry a receipt for any item over n50,000, where you do not want to meet the men in blak alone after 10pm.

yes but with good reasons,common lets be honest yahoo yahoo is an epidemic in nigeria and the cybercafe is where they operate,i agree with the police being corrupt and all that but like i said previously they are a reflection of the general decay in the society,the attitude of the police is more of their mode of recruitment and level of education with the general condition of the country,you know police brutality still happens in america and britain though few and far between

oyb:

area boys in cms have been arresting and gang raping women on and off for years.

someone obviously has never met with the psychotuics we call police.

yes,and our own version of area boys are in britain as well,the first time my fone got snatched was in london
the first time i saw young boys opening my friends back door in a hold up in broad daylight and making off with his lap top was here
burglars entered my brother's house not knowing someone was inside and they beat the guy up and make away with stuffs in the house and yes they were white boys
so pls area boys are everywhere,they just have diffrent names,i agree the police are not perfect but its a matter of time

TechJunky:

I guess this a good initiative. However, there should be clear cut guidelines on this to avoid innocent people getting victimized by overzealous citizens.

Such wide open powers are susceptible to abuse. We are fully aware of the police abusing its powers through arbitrary arrests and detention of persons. We'd better be careful.

exactly ,but everything has to start from somewhere and with time they ll perfect it,the police problem isnt a state issue but national,fashola has campaigned for an independent state police to no avail

lucabrasi:

yes but with good reasons,common lets be honest yahoo yahoo is an epidemic in nigeria and the cybercafe is where they operate,i agree with the police being corrupt and all that but like i said previously they are a reflection of the general decay in the society,the attitude of the police is more of their mode of recruitment and level of education with the general condition of the country,you know police brutality still happens in america and britain though few and far betweenyes,and our own version of area boys are in britain as well,the first time my phone got snatched was in london
the first time i saw young boys opening my friends back door in a hold up in broad daylight and making off with his lap top was here
burglars entered my brother's house not knowing someone was inside and they beat the guy up and make away with stuffs in the house and yes they were white boys
so please area boys are everywhere,they just have diffrent names,i agree the police are not perfect but its a matter of timeexactly ,but everything has to start from somewhere and with time they ll perfect it,the police problem isnt a state issue but national,fashola has campaigned for an independent state police to no avail

News Flash for you,  people have been round this circle umpteen times already. From your conversation, I don't get someone who has ever actually lived in Lagos but someone who is blindly optimistic considering not having enough experience of what lagos life really is. Am I right??

If you have lived in Lagos, tell me where? What street and neighbourhood and I could give you a bit of idea on how things are in that area today. Your location shows you are outside of lagos yourself so what makes you think you understand lagos more than others who are currently not there?? Let alone those who are there as we speak??

Kobojunkie:


News Flash for you, people have been round this circle umpteen times already. From your conversation, I don't get someone who has ever actually lived in Lagos but someone who is blindly optimistic considering not having enough experience of what lagos life really is. Am I right??

If you have lived in Lagos, tell me where? What street and neighbourhood and I could give you a bit of idea on how things are in that area today. Your location shows you are outside of lagos yourself so what makes you think you understand lagos more than others who are currently not there?? Let alone those who are there as we speak??

i was born and bred in lagos and i know what they r talking about,neither have i stayed that long abroad as to be totally disconnected with happenings in lagos besides i go home regularly so i know what im on about,what is being blindly optimistic in believing in a system that works?

i live in ikeja and even though my neighbourhood/street is not reflective of what we r on about here i.e crime n tha,i go everywhere and move around all areas when im in nigeria so i know what its like,i never said i understand lagos more than those living there what im saying again like techjunky is that its a really cool initiative and i believe in the long run will benefit the average nigerian,we all debate and talk on here especially yourself about how nigerians are docile and will not take concrete actions against criminals,well thats what you v always wanted and the law s backing it as well so whats r u on about?its not perfect yes but its a work in progress

lucabrasi:

i was born and bred in lagos and i know what they r talking about,neither have i stayed that long abroad as to be totally disconnected with happenings in lagos besides i go home regularly so i know what im on about,what is being blindly optimistic in believing in a system that works?

1) Where in Lagos did you live or have you lived??

2) What makes you think others are more diconnected than you are

3) Someone just came on to tell you that he is currently in Lagos and you went ahead to push that to the side. That makes me doubt your claim of knowing more of Lagos than others who live outside is founded on reality.

4) What makes you think that in all those who do not agree with you, none of them goes home as frequently as you do??

lucabrasi:

i live in ikeja and even though my neighbourhood/street is not reflective of what we r on about here i.e crime n tha,i go everywhere and move around all areas when im in nigeria so i know what its like,i never said i understand lagos more than those living there what im saying again like techjunky is that its a really cool initiative and i believe in the long run will benefit the average nigerian,

Fine that you and techjunky want to believe it is a really cool initiative but what makes you think that those who do not agree with you do not know the same Lagos as much as you do?? By, the way, What street in Ikeja are you speaking of here??

lucabrasi:

we all debate and talk on here especially yourself about how nigerians are docile and will not take concrete actions against criminals,well thats what you v always wanted and the law s backing it as well so whats r u on about?its not perfect yes but its a work in progress

This Law is not new, my friend. For someone who claims to have grown up in Lagos, I would expect you would know that and may have seen people do this on so many occassions. So again, what substance do you have to support your assertion that those who do not see things the way you do, probably do not know much about or of Lagos and the "System" you speak of??

Kobojunkie:

1) Where in Lagos did you live or have you lived??

2) What makes you think others are more diconnected than you are

3) Someone just came on to tell you that he is currently in Lagos and you went ahead to push that to the side. That makes me doubt your claim of knowing more of Lagos than others who live outside is founded on reality.

4) What makes you think that in all those who do not agree with you, none of them goes home as frequently as you do??

1)i have lived lekki and ikeja
2)i never said theyr are or not
3)yes and if you checked my reply to him,i answered without disagreeing with him,its a matter of opinion he believes it wont work because of the attitude of the police and i believe with a law backing them and the will to chase things it will work.
4)like i said before its all in individual opinions,some outrightly dismiss it because they think it ll be abused and all that but i believe it will work because of the reasons i have given in my previous reply,are you saying i should agree with them when i believe it ll work?

Kobojunkie:


Fine that you and techjunky want to believe it is a really cool initiative but what makes you think that those who do not agree with you do not know the same Lagos as much as you do?? By, the way, What street in Ikeja are you speaking of here??

theres no question that the initiative is open to abuse just like any other law,and theres no question that the police have their problems as well,but at the end of the day this is about giving the general lagosian a sense of belonging and responsibility,patriotism e.t.c they have their reasons for believing it wont work without even giving it any time to see the effects and we believe it ll work for many reasons, its not a street,its a close and what makes you think you ll know more about my street than me?

Kobojunkie:

This Law is not new, my friend. For someone who claims to have grown up in Lagos, I would expect you would know that and may have seen people do this on so many occassions. So again, what substance do you have to support your assertion that those who do not see things the way you do, probably do not know much about or of Lagos and the "System" you speak of??

the law is not new practically but in theory it is,it was mob justice before now its structured and theres a law that will on one hand discourage jungle justice and also encourage people to police each other more which is laudable in a crime ridden area like lagos,armed robbers,yahoo guys,419s ,kidnappers e.t.c are human beings who live amongst people so this initiative will help in fishing them out,you saying i have seen people do so on many ocassions means the average lagosian has it inside him/her which is the main thing needed to make it work,i m not saying i know more about lagos than anyone all im saying is that based on the reasons i have given previously,i believe it ll work why dont you give cogent reasons for thinking it wont work,arnt you being guilty of specifically what you propagate on here?you are saying it wont work and i am saying that now that the average lagosian has been empowered and backed up by the law things will change for the better

From all the posts, I have deduced that we all want the best for Lagos. What we seem to disagree with is the legal framework crafted by the Fashola's administration to make lagosians have a sense of belonging, to make them more responsive, patriotic and less aloof.

@kobojunkie and other offshore Nigerians may be we could use your experience here, only if you can articluate for us things that can be done to strengthen these new laws. It is not enough to be pessimistic.