Mr Effiok Nyok, a member of Partners for Peace in the Niger Delta, has asserted that Nigeria cannot fight ritual killings with an underfunded police force and the challenges of the justice system.
Nyok said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Calabar.
The peace advocate, who was reacting to the increase in the cases of ritual killings in the nation, said that the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) had constraints to effectively enforce the laws of the nation.
“The big questions we should ask ourself is how well is our police funded and to what extent is the annual budget appropriated for the police released.
“If we keep releasing just 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the annual budget of the NPF, how can they fight kidnappings and ritual killings in the nation,” he enquired.
Speaking further Nyok noted that another major challenge was that of an eroded and compromised value system that no longer see life as sacred as it used to be in Africa.
He said the eroded value system had also affected Nigerians’ sense of justice.
“People no longer consider the consequences of their actions because they believe they can manoeuvre the justice system.
“A situation where we hardly see convictions of ritual killers or organ harvesters is sad.
“Today, kidnappers do videos with their victims, yet we have not been able to convict many of them.
“If a criminal, about to take lives, knows that the state will come heavily on him for his crime and maybe take his own life, some of them will reconsider their actions,” Nyok said.
He added that Nigeria had enough laws from the 1999 Constitution to the Criminal Code, and Police Act, amongst others.
The peace advocate said that the country was not short of laws, but rather all it needs was implementation. (NAN)
