Another Jungle Justice: The Norm In Nigeria Now?

It happens everyday but rarely caught on
camera – when the people take the law into
their own hands and become judge, jury and
justice in Nigeria. Or what is commonly
called ‘Jungle Justice”.
There is a system of administration of justice
in Nigeria which runs parallel to the regular
system. This system is devoid of any
pretence to civilization. The system is
as pedestrian as it is mediocre. The system is
as disgusting as it is appalling. The system is
as brutal as it is ruthless. The system is as
embarrassing as it is shameful. The system is
as nihilistic as it is atavistic. Everything
about the system yells stone age,
backwardness, under development and
retrogression. Welcome to Nigeria's jungle
justice system.
Disputes in Lagos are often settled in a
manner such as that seen in the video
because the state justice system is regarded
by most Nigerians as broken.
An Amnesty International Nigeria news
report described the Nigerian justice system
as “utterly failing Nigerian people.”
“Nigeria’s prisons are filled with people
whose human rights are systematically
violated. Approximately 65 per cent of the
inmates are awaiting trial most of whom
have been waiting for their trial for years.
Most of the people in Nigeria’s prisons are
too poor to be able to pay lawyers, and only
one in seven of those awaiting trial have
private legal representation.” – Amnesty
International
And often justice in Nigeria can turn violent.

Woman Falls Pregnant after Having Sex with Brothers 15 and 17 Years Old

A married mum of three fell pregnant after
having a sordid affair with a schoolboy and
his teenage brother at the same time — then
did not know which one was the father.
Claire Louise Roundill, 32, plied the 15-year-
old boy with cannabis and bombarded him
with hundreds of texts and naked pictures of
herself before driving him to a secluded
location to have sex.
Roundill, from Hull, claimed she was initially
unaware of his age but had sex with him
again when she knew he was under the age
of consent.
Hull Crown Court heard she was also having a
relationship with his 17-year-old brother.
Then she became pregnant and did not know
which boy was the father.
Today she was given a nine-month
suspended sentence after admitting sexual
activity with a child, possessing and
supplying cannabis.
She must also sign the Sex Offenders’
Register for ten years.
Jharna Jobes, prosecuting, told the court:
“On the first occasion they had sexual
intercourse, she did not know he was 15 but
she accepts she discovered he was 15 and
went on to have sex with him again.
“During this time, the defendant was also in a
relationship with his brother. She became
pregnant.”
The court heard Roundill sent the younger
brother text messages, asking to meet up,
and pictures of her naked breasts.
Ms Jobes added: “They met up and drove to
Hessle Foreshore and had sex in her car. The
relationship carried on after he turned 16.
“He said she told him she was pregnant and
was not sure which brother was the father.”
The court also heard that Roundill had an
abortion after discovering she was pregnant.
Roundill’s barrister Charlotte Baines said the
married mum was having “a difficult time” in
her life when she embarked on the
relationships.
She said: “She was suffering financially and
her marriage was in real trouble.
“She is not the type of defendant the court
needs to send to prison immediately.”
Passing sentence, Judge John Dowse told her:
“The court must mark its displeasure at this
offence. You now have a criminal record for
the rest of your life."
However, the father of the two teenage boys,
who cannot be named for legal reasons,
slammed the sentence as a "slap on the
wrist".
He said: “If it had been the other way around
and this was a man having sex with a 15-
year-old girl, he would have been locked up,
without a shadow of a doubt.
"But, because she is a woman, she has
walked free.
“She took advantage of both my sons. When
my elder son dumped her, she targeted the
younger. She planned it.
“It was disgusting what she did."

Confirmed: Pentagon Deploys Military Forces to Jordan-Syria Border

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has
confirmed that US troops have been dispatched
to the Jordan-Syrian border to help bolster the
former’s military capabilities in case violence
escalates in the volatile region.
"We have a group of our forces there working to
help build a headquarters there and to insure
that we make the relationship between the
United States and Jordan a strong one so that we
can deal with all the possible consequences of
what's happening in Syria," Panetta said.
Panetta’s comments came during a NATO
conference of defense ministers in Brussels,
where he said the US had been working with
Jordan to monitor chemical and biological
weapons sites in Syria and help the country deal
with Syrian refugees crossing over the border.
The US has previously used Jordan as a base for
other Syria-related military activities. In May of
this year, Washington held military drills in Jordan
dubbed ‘Operation Eager Lion,’ which saw around
12,000 troops from several nations participate in
undisclosed training exercises.
A US defense official in Washington said the
forces were composed of 100 military planners
and other personnel who had stayed on in Jordan
after attending the annual exercise in May.
Several dozen more had subsequently been flown
in, and they are operating from a joint US-
Jordanian military center north of the capital, the
official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told
AP.
The Obama administration denied accusations in
the Syrian media that the exercises were a threat
against President Assad, and maintained that the
action focused on the treatment of refugees, anti-
terrorism tactics and naval interception of
smuggling vessels.
Following the operation, a small US contingent
stayed behind to establish the center in Amman,
paving the way for the arrival of more personnel.
“We have been working closely with our Jordanian
partners on a variety of issues related to Syria for
some time now,” Pentagon Press Secretary
George Little said. Citing Washington’s concern
over Syria’s stockpiles of chemical and biological
weapons, he said that the US has been planning
“various contingencies, both unilaterally and with
our regional partners.”
The US has long maintained concerns about the
Assad government’s arsenal of chemical and
biological weapons. In August, US President
Obama said the movement or utilization of
chemical weapons would constitute a “red line”
which would change Washington’s “calculus”
towards Damascus.
Last week Panetta said intelligence suggested
that Assad’s government had moved chemical
weapons to protect them, though they are
believed to be secure.
The Syrian conflict took an unexpected turn last
week when mortar fire struck across the border at
neighboring Turkey, sparking outcry from the
Turkish government who subsequently returned
fire. Turkey deployed 25 new F-16 fighter jets to
reinforce its borders this week as NATO pledged
support if the conflict spills into the country
again.
Since uprisings against the embattled President
Assad began last year, the UN estimated that
more than 20,000 people were killed in the
conflict and some 700,000 fled Syria to seek
refuge in neighboring countries.

Two Of The Uniport Students Burnt To Death, Recorded a Song "Heart of the City" – Very Touching

We’ve all heard the news, we’ve all seen the
pictures, and those of us who were able to
stomach it took a few minutes to watch the
horrific video. Four students of the University
of Port Harcourt were beaten and burnt to
death by the people of Aluu Community last
Friday October 5. Reasons behind the
brutality remain sketchy but one thing we all
know is that, no matter what they did,
Chidiaka, Tekena, Lloyd and Ugonna didn’t
deserve to go like this.
It turns out that 2 of the 4 victims, Lloyd
( Big L) and Ugonna (Tipsy) were up &
coming musicians as well. They were both
featured on this song titled “Heart of the
City” by another newcomer called Timi Kay.
When you listen to the lyrics, you’d
understand where they were coming from.
Could it have been a premonition? I’ll try not
to be too dramatic about it. In any case, you
couldn’t have handpicked a better song to
highlight the f*@kery that has just occurred.
The song talks about how wicked the
word is – It says no love in the city. A
really good rap song.
They sounded like American rap artists. It
was played by a radio station in Ph this
afternoon as they where commenting on
what happened. The boys were supposedr to
have a show this week in Uniport.
The music is great. Ironically the lyrics talked
of doomed hateful society, full of hate, crime
and death. Chai, we just lost some
overwhelmingly handsome talented Igbo
boys to heartless beasts in human form.

Nigerian Senate To Stop Kids Of Public Officials From Studying Abroad

If a bill proposed by Senator Basheer Garba
Mohammed succeeds, children of public
office holders would be restricted from
schooling abroad, except for specialized
programmes or courses not offered in the
nation’s educational institutions.
The bill among other objectives is aimed at
restoring the nation’s public educational
system by discouraging public officials from
sending their children and wards to foreign
schools.
Besides, senators have accused some
committee heads of using their positions to
influence the implementation of only
constituency projects in their senatorial
districts.
Mohammed noted that aside from neglect
suffered by public schools, the desire of
many public officials to educate their
children overseas had been a major source of
capital flight and brain drain. He stressed
that in this regard, there was the need for
the Senate to adopt drastic measures to
rescue the ailing educational system.
“Today, in this digital age, the pupils sit on
bare floor. You then ask, what manner of
leaders of tomorrow are we producing? You
may also ask, where are the children of
senators, honourable members, ministers
and governors? If our children attend such
schools, can we afford to leave them in such
a sorry state?”
The senator representing Kano Central
stated that the country’s educational system
had continued to suffer serious setbacks
because political office holders and policy
makers had given an impression that they
had no confidence in the quality of
education.
He described the bill as a patriotic call for
sacrifice to restore confidence to the
country’s educational sector.
“We should be proud of what we have and
Nigeria cannot develop without a sound
educational system. You cannot be a
minister or commissioner of education or of
health and refuse to patronize your own
system and expect the system to improve”,
Mohammed said.
The bill, however, proposed an option of a
special tax for defaulters, which would be
channelled toward revamping the ailing
educational system in the public sector from
primary through secondary to tertiary levels.
According to the sponsor of the bill, the tax
would be determined in due course.