(Must Read): Legal Illegality

(Must Read): Legal Illegality

The inspiration for this piece came from regular observance of the attitude of law enforcement agencies towards payment of fares, in consonance with the response of bus/taxi drivers.

If you’re a citizen that does not have a personal car, then you would have an idea what I want to talk about.

In previous times, bus drivers and their conductors fight with law enforcement agents (Police officers, soldiers and so on) when they refuse to pay their fares. Some of those fights end up badly, while some end quite interesting.

We must have heard or seen police officers or soldiers beating up citizens (people they should be protecting), and it makes you wonder what their job really is – is it to protect or to ‘deal’ with citizens.

Some of those beatings end up in the death of the particular citizens. One of those particular cases is the incessant beating and killing of these people that transport people to and from their places of work/business.

It is due to this that one would conclude that these drivers and conductors show ‘undeserved’ fear for these officers and allow them into their buses/taxis totally free.

Let us even define this no-payment policy of officers:

Fare evasion, as distinct from fare avoidance, is the act of travelling/taking a public transport in disregard of the law and/or regulation. It is a problem in many parts of the world, especially in Nigeria where citizens ‘should be’ afraid of the law enforcement officers.

Sometimes, you see these drivers begging the officers to use their buses to ‘wherever’ they are going – some would say that is because they want to avoid paying the NURTW officials their ‘agreed’ amount.

The issue is becoming a concern, as a cross section of concerned citizens have disagreed totally with that idea, some others buy the idea.

‘To me oo, I don’t think they should be allowing officers into their buses free. I mean… are they not paid their salaries?’ – Segun.

‘Why should be entering buses free? See… if am the transport minister, that can’t happen abeg’. – Shade.

‘They are the ones protecting us, free them joor!’ – Femi.

‘Me sef dey always look them, when they just enter like say na dem buy the bus, e no good na. Una sabi say some of those people hire the bus and go pay everyday. These agbero go collect their own, officers go collect their own, ahah wetin?’ – anonymous.

‘They are been paid their salaries, they should pay like every other citizen’. – Mr Ken.

‘Well… So many things are wrong in this country, that is just one’. – anonymous.

When asked about the ‘unguided’ arrest and torture of the drivers and their conductors, one particular comment interested me:

‘You know we are still in the military era, where innocent people are killed, some mysteriously. You would just see officers enter someone house beat up the person, confiscate properties and are allowed to go scot free. Sometimes, you see them on the road mercilessly dealing with someone, and you wonder if the person slapped the president himself. They flaunt their guns to scare un-armed citizens while highway robbers continue their operation. The security in this country is a jamboree. I do not know why officers torture these people but I know it’s because they think they have the power to do whatever they like’. – Ola.

The question is: ‘Should we continue to fold our arms? You know… indiscriminate arrest and torture, I believe, is another form of corruption (total decadence!).