The President, Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), Dr. Kehinde Prince Taiga has condemned the killing of a two-year-old boy, Ivan Omorhiakogbe, by an operative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Delta State.
He described the incident which happened on Thursday as pathetic and prayed God to accept the soul of the deceased.
While commiserating with the family of Ivan, Dr. Taiga called for a thorough investigation into the matter, in order to ensure that the victim gets justice.
The CDHR President also called for the removal of bottlenecks which impede the administration of justice in Nigeria, highlighting delay in investigations, corruption in the judiciary, among others, as fueling injustice in the country.
He said, “There are many of such cases whose investigations were delayed or never concluded, leading to denial of justice. So, government at all levels should always prevail on law enforcement agencies to speed up investigations and ensure the prosecution of culprits.
“Also, we see people of questionable character being appointed as judges. And when corrupt judges handle cases, the poor are denied justice because it is the highest bidder that is adjusted innocent.
“Corrupt judges murder justice because they are only after their own selfish interests. I therefore call on the authorities to always appoint only people of proven integrity into the judiciary in order to save our justice system.”
The human rights activist charged the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary in Nigeria to wage war against extra-judicial killings, which he said have become incessant in the country.
He also called for the deployment of trigger-happy officers to crisis-ridden areas, where they will display their agility and skills in the use of firearms.
According to him, “Officers of the law are meant to protect lives, not to take lives. So, those who take the lives of innocent citizens must be made to face the full wrath of the law.”
“Again, such trigger-happy officers should be sent to face Book Haram terrorists, bandits, insurgents and other groups that constitute threat to public peace, not for them to engage in reckless killing of innocent citizens on the streets.”
