I start my expose on rule of law by considering Right to Life. The sacredness of life is illustrated by the fact that the only morally acceptable ground for taking someone’s life is that life has been taken. Life for Life. No loss of life for any other offense
Society criminalize acts to discourage violence and protect peaceable living. Rule of law prohibits use of violence outside the law. By creating offenses and their punishment and mandating processes to establish how and when to punish society effectively prohibits violence
The Supreme Court has said taking of life without due process is the ultimate act of violence. And as Landa Cope states, “God’s focus is on deterrence to violence. The judicial solution must actually decrease violence”.
To ask soldier in the heat of passion to decide which life to snuff out is the ultimate act of state violence. It is against divine law, moral law and legal justice. Especially when the law has defined the punishment as 2 yrs imprisonment. Arbitrariness is the heat of violence
Due process protection for life requires that we build the strongest protection around the life of individuals, not to dismantle them. In war we can kill even as we are targeted to kill. In an election we cannot kill except we are actually targeted to be killed.
Rejecting the so-called ‘directive’ to shoot to death ballot-box snatchers is not supporting electoral fraud. INEC Chair got it right. Unsparingly arrest and prosecution of those criminals Is the solution, not Arbitrary killing by agitated soldiers who are mentally stressed
Rule of law requires that after each electoral cycle we prosecute all electoral offenders, whether they worked for APC or PDP or XYZ. It is failure to prosecute important or favorite criminals that encourages crimes not fair and legal punishment
