Disaster In The Dead Of Night -By Kene Obiezu

Nigeria has an internet fraud problem, and the earlier the government recognizes that, acknowledges as much and declares a state of emergency to tackle the problem, the better for the country.

But there are genuine fears that the problem which has become as systematic as it is systemic cannot even be tackled.

All over the country, with the proliferation of internet technology, social media, unemployment, and the erosion of moral values has come a new generation of internet-savvy Nigerians who know just how to maneuver their way in the cyberspace as well as convince unsuspecting foreigners to part with their money.

When what has quickly become an epidemic started, Nigeria was not quick enough to arrest the problem. It was even a long time before the country embraced the challenge of tackling internet fraud headlong.

Now, in an attempt to fight a crime that is spreading like wildfire, disaster struck a couple of days ago when. EFCC operatives stormed a house in Anambra State in the dead of night. The occupant responded with lethal force killing one operative and wounding another.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, while the commission has claimed that the fatal shooting was deliberate, the occupant of the house has countered, insisting that he thought it was armed robbers or kidnappers.
Nigerians on social media have been divided too, with many insisting that the operatives got their just desserts for raiding residential houses at night like common criminals despite an outcry by Nigerians against the practice.

The commission has prohibited night stings. It has expressly banned its men from ambushing people at night when they sleep. But that is only if they are sleeping. It is common knowledge that Nigeria’s hurricane of internet fraud is especially active at night when normal people are sleeping.

The tragedy in Anambra State has again exposed the shocking lack of compassion in many Nigerians, especially the stoats who stampede the streets of social media. Someone dies and they are gloating. In the face of death, that morbid mortal reality that is the fate of all those who host life — its eternal rival — they are celebrating. No matter the circumstances in which life is taken, sobriety should be dignity. Sobriety in the circumstances would be restraint, it would also be circumspection. Tragedy cannot and should not be regionalized or ethicized in Nigeria. It can only be humanized.

In a country riven apart by financial crimes, where criminals in government compete for prominence with young devious Nigerians stalking the cyberspace and wreaking havoc, the EFCC is doing a tedious, traumatic and ultimately thankless job. Like every other institution of government in Nigeria, the commission is flawed. It has to be because it is made up of people drawn from Nigerians who favour a mentality of self-aggrandizement,it has been used severally exploited as a tool by unscrupulous government officials. Some unscrupulous operatives of the commission have also been known to aid criminals for their personal gain.

But beyond its oppressive working environment, there have been some remarkable success in recovering loot stolen by weasels who somehow found their way into government.
Nigeria can’t and won’t grow with levels of financial crime shooting through the roofs. It is simply not possible.

The commission should be supported in fulfilling its very difficult mandate.It is playing a critical role in trying to rid Nigeria of corruption. It faces powerful enemies in Nigeria who can only be defeated by the collective strength and singlemindedness of Nigerians.

Sometime last year, the Supreme Court had to give a judgment defending the commission from about sixteen state governors who were desperate to have it scrapped. That is the level of opposition the commission faces.
Without the commission carrying out its arduous, unenviable task, corruption will overrun the country. The situation is better imagined than experienced.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com