One who sympathises with a criminal is no different from the criminal himself -By Usama Abdullahi

Nothing could be scarier than seeing some people sympathising with the ruthless murderer of little Haneefa. Anyone who does that do it out of unflinching apathy toward human’s life. I learnt that Liu Jan, a Chinese billionaire businessman was convicted of murder and executed in February 2015, simply because he was running a mafian-style gang. Likewise, one of his siblings and some other three associates were executed as well.

If this could happen in a well evolved, progressive and the most populated country on earth, then I wonder why it wouldn’t happen here in Nigeria? Does it mean Nigerians are the most softhearted people in the whole wide world? Of course, no. If issues of sympathy arise, I bet many Nigerians would bury themselves in shame because they are wont of barbarism.

Our hypocrisy knows no bound and is second to none. It’s deep-rooted and we seem not ready to change for the better. Innocent poor people are being cruelly barbacued as chickens and kidnapped daily, yet the (un)repentant criminals are cordially received and mollycoddled.Their barbaric actions are overlooked. Unfortunately, those that they have wounded and displaced to new unfavorable suburbs are left unaided.

It’s a grave sin that criminals are being glorified and pardoned whenever they fake repentance. This is the reason our country breeds generation of stubborn criminals and also why insecurity thrive across the country. Actually, we do ourselves no justice by neglecting the facts that those criminals are worthless, hence deserve to be tortured to death just as they did to our brothers and sisters.

We escalate the precarious situations of our dear nation by being soft on criminals. No doubt that laws in this country are imposed upon the labouring classes or less privilege ones. If the needies steal to feed their bereaved or starved families, they are burned to ashes when caught by mobs who are also thieves themselves. Those needies are mostly refugees and victims of bad governance. I’m not trying to justify their crimes. No, I am not.

But who do you think should be burned to ashes unhesitatingly? Yes, the real unsparing and often politically sponsored criminals, I suppose. It’s true that the so-called sympathisers neither mourn the slained nor denounce the slayers. In fact, they are quick to condone and gloat over innocent people’s death. As far as I’m concerned, one who sympathises with a criminal is either crueler or no different than the criminal himself.

By excusing barbarism, we are trying to eliminate these two words “deterrence”and “justice” from our constitution. If criminals shall not be punished accordingly before people, then there’s no such a thing as “deterrence” and people will probably carry out their illegitmate activities without any fear. And if justice can’t be done too, then this society is a lawless one. Until Haneefa’s murderer, Abdulmalik, faces death penalty, I will never forgive our Judicial system.

Usama Abdullahi wrote from Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached at usamagayyi@gmail.com