So a few days ago, on the Badagry expressway a few policemen ended up shooting and killing a man on a motorcycle who happened to be a soldier. A few days later several policemen including a DPO (senior police official) were killed by men alleged to be soldiers. Apparently the killings were in retaliation for the death of the soldier. The army spokesman initially denied that soldiers were involved in the killings of the police officers. However they have arrested a senior army official of the barracks around Badagry.

It seems like there will be an investigation into this, and the guilty parties will be punished on both sides. However the story highlights one of the problems we have to deal with as a country if we are to move forward. This problem is that significant segments of our society believe that they are both above the law. What gave the police the right to kill a man on a motorcycle and think that they could get away with it. If not for the fact that he was a military man, nothing would have come of it. What gave the army the right to think that they could take the law into their own hands and seek retribution.

This is not just limited to the police and the army. It stretches to the civil servants that think they should not pay tax, or the politicians that think they can take personal loans guaranteed by government money. There is a cultural belief in the lack of accountability that currently pervades our psyche.

I believe that there is a potential for change. I mean, in years past neither the police that killed the soldier or the soldiers that allegedly went on a rampage would have gotten into trouble. Key political figures have gone to jail for graft, and the success of the elections imply that the people's voice is starting to be heard.

Anyway here is to hoping that justice is eventually done, and that God will grant peace to the families of the individuals who lost their lives in this crisis, especially the families of the innocent bystanders.