The Periscope reporter
The elders, the women and the youth in the entire Maiha local government area have reacted to a cultist like transaction in mortgaging a case against N100 killer police corporal for N1,000,000
It was on Monday, 1st June, 2020 when a promising 20 years old commercial tricyclist by name Arabo Dauda Tambajam was killed by a seeming drunk on duty police corporal Richard Japheth for refusing to pay N100 the alleged criminal mounted at a checkpoint in Maiha LGA of Adamawa state.
Tambajam was the breadwinner of the family. He cartered for his parents who are medically unfit and paid for his school fees, before a criminal could put a bullet for N100 to end his life as was alleged.
Maiha as a community, demanded for justice lest the aggrieved youth, translating the Old Testament, resort to jungle justice for “an eye for an eye”.
It is a taboo hence unforgiving, for a criminal, especially one who is paid to keep peace and ensure security, to kill innocent person(s) in the entire Maiha local government area.
The youth lamented that the rapists and murderers are used to deploy the rather seeming inhuman services of some heartless, good for nothing, bourgeois modernist escapists from the bereaved family or pseudo representatives in the community, to frustrate justice from taking its course for a miserable amount.
“We reject this transaction. N1m isn’t the recommended amount to compensate for life. The amount currently stands at about N50m.
“If N1m is paid, the family of the deceased innocent shouldn’t be N49m shortchanged. There must be the balance to be settled,” a youth group said.
Some of the humiliated, embarrassed and aggrieved members of the late Arabo family who were technically not consulted and/or invited to the negotiation that arrived at paltry N1m as compensation for life, are considering returning the money to the parents of the N100 killer police corporal and allow justice to take its course.
“We’re considering returning the money – if at all is was given – to let the parents of the murderer be courageous to allow their son tried for culpable homicide offence before the law.
“We reject, if at all there is, the move to obtain a court affidavit, withdrawing the case of culpable homicide as it does not reflect the collective position of the community standing for our dear Arabo.
“We’re surprised and embarrassed to hear the Executive Chairman of our local government, who stands by, with and for us in the case, saying that he was not consulted on the transaction as much as other stakeholders like the Human Rights groups.
“Our lawyer wasn’t also invited and the transaction didn’t even take place in either of our family houses or the LGA Secretariat. What a go between! So, you see, the family wasn’t adequately represented, hence null and void,” they said.
Recall the New Zealand mass shooting in a Mosque on Friday March 15, 2019, when a 28-year old trigger happy Brenton Tarrant decided to end the lives of the worshippers. He was eventually arrested. His parents did not only condemn his action, they also demanded that law should take its course rather than appealing for clemency.
