Justice, African style

D

David Roberson

New member
This just in.


> LAGOS, April 20 (AFP) - Watched by several policemen, a crowd in
>a market district of Nigeria's economic capital on Thursday burned
>alive two suspected thieves, a witness told AFP.
> The two men, who were not identified, were caught by the crowd
>in the main market in the Isolo district of Lagos after snatching a
>trader's bag carrying his week's earnings.
> The two, riding a motorbike, snatched the bag and appeared to be
>making a getaway, until a local minibus-taxi intervened and struck
>the bike, knocking them into a ditch.
> They were then captured by the crowd and, as they pleaded in
>vain for their lives, were doused in petrol, had tyres put around
>their necks, and set ablaze, said the witness, local resident Alex
>Okoro.
> Such lynchings happen frequently in Nigeria where faith in the
>police is almost non-existent.
> The police watching the entire incident did not intervene, Okoro
>said.
 
I'm not a proponent of vigilantism. I prefer the system take care of things, legally.

I'll bet they don't spend nearly as much as we do on prisons, prisoners, cable TV, weight training, etc...
 
Guilty until proven crispy...

Yikes, I'll stick with the system too.

"Go back to Massachusetts, Pinko!"
-Homer Simpson
 
"The System" is great until it breaks down or becomes completely corrupted.

I often wonder if we're headed down the same road.
 
I watched a segment on fox news about how in south africa many of the farm workers are angry at the white farmers and in some cases have killed and wounded many white farmers, resulting in white farmers arming themselves. Very good pro-gun editorial I might add. It illustrated a non-biased report showing the need for weapons for self protection. Farmers were armed at all times, and even took shifts at night guarding/patroling the property. Not to mention smile on the reports face when he let the bolt slam shut on the AK-47. Oh, if all news broadcast concerning the importance of RKBA were as accurate as this one, but one can only dream.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Sort of eliminates the whole appealate process.[/quote] Yeah. That's the problem. It's all, "Rah, rah! Go get 'em!", 'til it's you who is the target. Then all of a sudden it's, "Whoa here! What about DUE PROCESS?"
 
When I was in W. Africa (Conakry, Guinea) I saw a Guinean steal a bag of rice from a street stall. DON'T ever steal a 50lb. bag of rice; it kinda' hampers your getaway if you're on foot. Needless to say the thief was caught and beaten by a crowd.
 
I worked in Nigeria for two years and I think this process has been accepted by everyone. I have not witness this first hand but I heard from one worker that he saw a thief caught by a mob in the market and he was also doused with petrol and burnt.

Considering that petrol is very scarce in this country ( they export oil mind you) but they have a ready can for this occasion.

It was also told that one Moslem group locked in a Christian family in their house and burnt them inside.

The police also believe in "baptizing" their suspect if they will not confess. I saw this happen in our factory. They use a rubber hose in whipping the suspect. The suspect already admitted that he was stealing from the company but the police is still not satisfied with the answer.

I asked the cop why he still continue to whip the suspect since he already admitted the robbery. The answer was, "I want to make sure that he is telling me the truth, maybe he said yes because he is suffering from much pain. I don't want to send an innocent man behind bars." Now talk about due process.

vega
 
Due process in the US is dependent on how much money you have to spend on lawyers.Due process is not for the poor but for the rich.
OJ being a prime example of this.How many politicians end up in jail?

------------------
beemerb
We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world;
and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding twelve men
every day who don't know anything and can't read.
-Mark Twain
 
I spent 5 years in Warri, Nigeria. One of the court cases that tends to stick out in my mind, was the trial and execution of a kidnapper.

A man attempted to kidnap a child on the street, the child shrieked and an impromptu posse began to pursue the subject.

Subject hauled tail into an alley and jumped the wall at the back of the alley.

Pursuers entered said alley, and found said alley empty except for the presence of one goat.

Posse apprehends said goat, and brings him(?) to the local magistrate on a charge of Attempted Kidnapping and Witchcraft. (The Witchcraft charge stemming from the fact that the kidnapper obviously turned himself into a goat to avoid capture.)

They had a drawn-out trial, with witnesses and expert testimony, found the goat guilty on all charges, tied the goat to a stake, shot him via firing squad and burned the body to prevent the 'witchdoctor' from coming back.

LawDog
 
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