THE TOPIC TODAY: The Nigerian government's promise to "investigate abuses" in the South East, a genuine commitment or a tactic to delay justice and maintain impunity?
SCENE: A casual makeshift meeting discussing regional insecurity. OLA (Pacing, visibly frustrated): The government says it will 'investigate abuses' and 'protect people.' They've been saying that for years. That's not a plan; that's a press release. Protection is what happens before the bodies pile up, not an empty promise after. JIDE (Sighing): True, Ola. The promise to investigate in Nigeria is like a magician's act: the government waves a big, flowery statement, and accountability vanishes . The security forces that are supposed to protect are often, simultaneously, the ones being investigated. It's a closed-loop system of perpetual injustice. AMARA (Checking her phone for supportive documents): Jide is satirizing, but he hits the point. The lack of accountability is systematic. For instance, Amnesty International and other credible bodies have documented over 1,844 deaths in the South-East between January 2021 and June 2023, a...