Increase in crimes in Nigeria and the role of Indian hemp: AN EDITORIAL

The DEFENDER carried out an investigation into why crimes are on the increase across the country and it discovered it was/is because consumption of drugs and weeds (Indian hemp) is on the increase and openly too.

What is more disheartening is that you see the sellers of these evil materials being patronised by soldiers of Nigerian Army, Air Force. The most despicable? Personnel of Nigerian Police provide them security.

The DEFENDER used Oshodi right at the gate of Nigerian Army Arena and Ikeja under bridge at Kodesoh side of the Oba Akran/Awolowo way roundabout axis as case study. Area also used is the bridge at Obalende where the Lagos State Task Force has already demolished the illegal structures being used as hideouts by the evil drugs merchants. They still hang around over there.

Now, what did this online newspaper also find out? It is that when Indian hemp is consumed, the consumer sees everything as nothing and so he runs over it without fear in his mind. This was based on an Okada man interviewed. Unfortunately nobody wants to be proudly attached to the deal and consumption of these weeds (Indian hemp), so, he didn’t identify himself.

He said, “When we take Indian hemp, if we are riding Okada and are facing trailer oncoming, trailer is not bigger than bicycle in our sight.  And so, we don’t fear to do anything around it.”

This is one testimonial to the adverse effects of Indian hemp in the society. One Okada in most cases carries two passengers plus the rider making three. It means at a go, three people are at risk of either losing their lives or getting badly deformed to become liability (disabled) to the society. Meaning that the rise in the number of beggars sometimes has been proved not to be due to natural poverty alone but by accident-induced disability.

The effect of weeds on crimes. One of the state police commands in South West paraded arrested suspected armed robbers – and armed robbers here mean those arrested after gun batter with the police during which some gang members and one policeman died; but our laws say despite that they were physically caught in the crime and at the scene of crime they remain innocent until court proves them guilty and if the suspects have “good” lawyers, they can be proved innocent and freed.

One of them confessed that he was never a person with the heart of hurting a fly talkless that he could kill human being, even a policeman in uniform for that matter.

When pressed further why then he changed and began to have the hardened heart to rob and kill, he said once he took Indian hemp distributed among his gang, every human being became like ant in his sight and that was it.

It is reasons such as this that cultism and kidnapping are on the increase and people can carry guns and stand in the middle of the roads to rob travelers on the highway and all of that. It is also because of this that some members of the security agencies, as alleged few days ago by the Department of State Security Service (DSS), can sell arms that are entrusted in their respective agencies to criminals who onwardly use same to attack people and rob them of their property, money and even lives.

Furthermore, it is because of intaking of hard drugs mostly Indian hemp that some security men in charge of borders and ports (although greed and unpatrotism in most cases also cause this) would allow smuggling of pump action guns into the country, which are then distributed by politicians who import them through proxies to cause chaos in communities across the country.

Although The DEFENDER was able, during its investigation, to discover how some other crimes even acts of terrorism are also committed without the aid of drugs or weeds but by overzealousness. It all boils out to being ’caused’ by Satan and since drugs and weeds are evil materials, the media outfit has been unable to separate them.

However there is no evidence that for instance members of the proscribed terrorist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) take drugs or weeds. They are strictly propelled by hate and that is all. They are committed to ensuring that the Fulani man in power would not succeed for defeating Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28, 2015 elections.

But evidences abound that those who beheaded ASP Mohammed Alkali during the Rivers national assembly rerun elections in late 2016 were drugs and weeds users empowered by politicians. No one knows why all efforts at ensuring justice over the gruesome killing of Alkali has stopped abruptly.

This is the result of our finding as a media effort defending the truth and national integrity. Our limitations are not in doubt but what we have done and result of which we have presented in this Editorial is nothing but the true situation of how the use of drugs by security and civilian members of our society has caused the many unrest that Nigeria has been witnessing. Hate is another that must be fought without sentiment or emotion.

The DEFENDER therefore recommends that every spot particularly motor parks (and bus stops as in Lagos) should be combed with a view to demolishing the structures of merchants of these evil materials and arresting the consumers who patronise them, security men or civilians.

Government should use the intelligence agencies to comb the bushes in Ondo, Ekiti and other places where the farmers of these weeds are major to destroy the farms and arrest the farmers and prosecute and not allow them back into the society without being brought to justice for dealing in destructive businesses.

Effort should be made to determine who among security men patronise the sellers of these weeds and take them away for rehabilitation because their continuous existence within the security system will continue to pose dangers to the society.

More of evidence of influence of Indian hemp on the rise in crimes in Nigeria can be read in the underneath report link by Vanguard published on December 14, 2012 and so government must act fast!

“Indian hemp and ogogoro make us hardened during operation – robbery suspect

“We usually smoke wraps of Indian hemp otherwise called Igbo before we go for robbery. We will then top it with shots of ogogoro (local gin). This is to make us hardened during operation and  this is why a robber during operation can shoot his mother or wife”

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/indian-hemp-and-ogogoro-make-us-hardened-during-operation-robbery-suspect/