At 7: 49 a.m, Commander Fuchida signaled the attack. At 7: 53 a.m.- even before the first bomb fell, he was so sure of victory that he signaled the code word for success: Tora, Tora, Tora. That was how Japanese bomb rained on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941. A B-17 Pilot, coming from California, thought it was a big celebration. The battleship Nevada’s brand kept on playing THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER, while Japanese strafers sprayed her decks with machine-gun fire. As Admiral Nagumo’s task force swept towards Hawaii determined, warning after warning was ignored on Oahu. When danger was clear, there was a witness to confusion, panic, heroism and courage as the United States Armed Forces responded to Admiral Yamamoto’s cleverly planned sneak attack against a nation that imagined itself to be at peace.
60 years later, at 8.46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 was forced to crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. Unsurprisingly, the devastation was horrific. Huge clouds of smoke billowed out from where the plane had driven a hole in the side of the building. There were flames, twisted metal and worst of all some of the people who were trapped in the building began jumping from its windows to certain death. Minutes later, to the horror of those watching from the below, a second passenger jet crashed into the South Tower somewhere around the 60th storey. But the carnage did not stop there. In Washington DC another of the hijacked aircraft crashed into the south-west face of the Pentagon while in Pennsylvania, United Flight 93 plunges into a wooded area, after the passengers confronted their hijackers.
Destabilized by the impact of Flight 175, at a few minutes after 10.00a.m., the South Tower of the World Trade Centre collapsed, quickly followed by that of the North Tower. Not since Pearl Harbor has the United States experienced such an onslaught of attacks and when President Bush made his first statement to the nation he vowed to find those responsible and bring them to justice. Two days later Secretary of State, Colin Powell identified one man behind the attack; his name was Osama bin Laden. And immediately no effort was spared to bring him to justice.
Evil can befall any nation at any time. What makes the difference is how nations respond to evil. In developed democracy, every person, system, institution queues up in solidarity behind leadership in moments of disaster to bring perpetrators of evil to book and pre-empt further attacks. Nigeria is the only country where politics is made of every evil.
April 14, 2014, will forever go down in history as one of those infamous days Nigerians will wish should never had existed. Nigerians woke up with the day having all the attractions of normal before the unexpected which quickly turned cheers into tears happened at Nyanya Bus terminals, Abuja. We held our heads in disbelief as we witnessed the worst in human nature. We cried; we wept; we mourned as we saw the victims, their families and the palpable disaster that could have been the lot of any Nigerian anytime and anywhere. The world condemned it and urged Nigeria to fish out the perpetrators of the dastard act.
Few days after, the Directorate of State Security revealed the identity of the suspects identifying the mastermind as Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche. Ogwuche is a deserter of Nigerian Army who had once been arrested on suspicion of terror related body language but was released following pressure from human rights groups and the father of the suspect. The directorate also announced that the prime suspect had evaded Nigerian authorities and fled the country.
The revelation added to our sorrows because the attack was preventable. The search for Ogwuche began with a ransom placed on his head. At the red alert of the Interpol, he was finally picked up in Sudan where he had taken refuge and was therefore repatriated to Nigeria. After the jubiliation of the arrest, we never heard anything again.
On Monday November 24, 2014, the first time since that extradition in July, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche was arraigned on terrorism charges. Surprisingly, his plea was not taken as the charges were struck out by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of Federal High Court, Abuja, for want of diligent prosecution by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). This is even as Ogwuche has approached the same court to order his immediate release over his continuous detention.
The police had filed a three-count charge against the suspected British born terrorist. The charge sheet which was signed by the IGP was still pending before the High Court when the accused person was finally extradited with the help of Interpol.
The dismissal of Aminu’s case has betrayed Nigerian problem. The infamous judgment has the colour of judicial corruption. Though, every judgment is as good as evidences before the judge, yet we wonder whether acquittal is the only option in the face of indiligent prosecution in the first arraignment of a suspect of terrorist action? In matters of public good, courts have in many rulings ignored legalities in sympathy with the greater majority. The laws are made for man and not man for law.
Religion is a factor that is placed above nationalism in Nigeria. Would the ruling had been different were Aminu to be a Christian? Would it have been different if IGP and Ademola were to be Christians? Certainly, yes.
Fundamental to the play out of religion and corruption is the rivalry among different government agencies and departments. Ademola harped his judgment on the lack of diligent prosecution. There had been controversy over Aminu’s planned arraignment owing to the bickering between the Department of State Security and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) over who should prosecute. When the case was called, the police lawyer, Mr Oloye Torugbene was not in court and no reasons were given for his absence. Although Ogwuche was ushered into the dock, counsel to the DSS, Mr. Cliford Osagie said Ogwuche was brought in obedience to the court order directing the agency to produce him in court.
Functions of major agencies overlap and fight for supremacy affects inter-service cooperation. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria gives the Nigerian police the power to investigate and prosecute criminal cases while the role of the SSS is to operate as a person behind the mask and support the police with evidence and useful information necessary to prove or establish their criminal case against the suspect while the identity of the SSS agent remains always concealed.
Today, the SSS fight over criminal cases with the police instead of playing the role of informants. This has exposed identities of the undercover agents and made them less effective. Besides, every Nigerian understands the implication of leaving for the police the role of proffering charges. They can choose to ignore the evidence of the SSS and dilute the charges in favour of religion, region or highest bidder. The police have even fingered out in disclosing the identities of agents.
Nigeria has become a country where an issue that should ordinarily be elevated to national interest is restricted to personal attachment. The world is watching Nigeria in her complicated war against terror. I have no doubt that Aminu will soon be released to hatch another plan. Tears drop for Nigeria.
