Time to Nail Killer Drivers

On Saturday, the 23 December 2023, I was startled by a whatsapp chat from a colleague. The chat was not the usual compliments and prayers that have become the norm during festivities such as the Christmas and Sallah seasons. Rather, it was the harbinger of other tragedies.

It was what we call first information and indeed it messed up my whole day. The chat was about a fatal crash which occurred along the Majia-Malamawa road near Gujungu in Jigawa state. It involved two cars. The probable cause was speed violation and loss of control. Ten people died in that multiple crash two days to Christmas.

While I was pondering on this tragedy, my Christmas was soiled by news from far away in Ikirun,Osun State. Unlike the first crash, this was a lone crash that killed nine people. Speed and loss of control was equally the probable cause in addition to fatigue. The vehicle was a Mitsubishi Canter. 

Before these two crashes, we had recorded other crashes prior to our end of year patrols to curb fatalities. Most of the crashes occurred along Abuja-Kaduna, Kano-Zaria, Kotangora, just to mention a few and claimed lives with several degrees of injuries sustained.

Two years ago I did a piece with the above caption in response to the spate of crashes and deaths. I am compelled by these deaths to use it again. I do hope you will enjoy the reading with a bit of editing to make it look a bit fresh. For starters, I must confess that I love football. In fact, I am crazy and freaky about football. My craze is worsened when it is about the Premiership where football lives or when my darling Super Eagles adorn our traditional Green, White and Green jersey.

For the record, I am not a Reds even though I love the colour red. I am a Gunners and have been one for as long as I can remember. I love Arsenal and will remain a Gunner for life even though my friend and brother, Chris Kehinde Nwandu (CKN) jumped ship from Arsenal to Manchester United at the height of the crisis following the departure of Arsene Wenger and our flat footed performances over time.

I hope he becomes a prodigal fan for several reasons; first is that we won the FA Cup   during the 2019/2020 season as well as the Community Shield after flogging Liverpool at Wembley. We capped it up with a win over Manchester City to herald the 2023/2024 season again at Wembley as well as our current form against the best. 

With all sense of humility, I have nothing against Manchester United, nor against Chris Nwandu who is my brother from a mother I am yet to meet. However, I really cannot stand being called a’ REDs’ even though their football was admirable until lately but I truly fear being tagged a ‘Devils fan’.

Before I bore you and I lose my readers who are supporters of the REDS, let me pause and inform you that this focus is not about Manchester United who have been wobbling since the start of the current season unlike my darling Arsenal. It is neither about Arsenal who have discovered their rhythm. 

It is actually first about the fate of one of the REDS defenders in the Premiership, Harry Maguire, the captain of Manchester United following his trial on the Greek Island in 2020. I read that the 27 year-old was released from Police custody following his arrest on the island of Mykonos due to an alleged altercation with police officers. I also read that he was not obliged to be in attendance which I must confess tripped me.

Mag, as I fondly call him when he shows up on the pitch with his superlative performance, pleaded not guilty. According to media reports, Mag did not comment after leaving court. The report further said that “three foreigners were arrested after an alleged altercation with police officers in Mykonos. The other two defendants were Maguire’s brother Joe, 28, and a family friend Christopher Sharman, 29. Maguire’s father Alan, I read, was at the court hearing.

According to media reports, the accusations against the three included “violence against officials, disobedience, bodily harm, insult and attempted bribery of an official.” Greek police said that officers had tried to break up an altercation between two groups outside a bar and that the three foreigners had then verbally abused and assaulted one of the officers.

After arriving at Mykonos police station, the three arrested individuals “strongly resisted, pushing and hitting three police officers” while “one of the detainees tried to offer money so that the trial against them would not be completed,” it further said.

Maguire is perhaps the fourth premiership footballer whose travails have formed part of my focus on this page. I have severally x-rayed the plight of some celebrities, especially footballers who daily indulge in flouting traffic rules after too much clubbing and drinking. Maguire’s case has nothing to do with flouting traffic rules in the United Kingdom. It is totally a matter that took place while he was holidaying on the Greek Island.

What I find really intriguing, as stated earlier, is the flexibility of the court proceedings despite claims by the Police. The flexibility brings to my mind the cases of traffic offenders, especially drivers responsible for deaths on our roads. Observers, including my friend Martins, have wondered why it is difficult to convict a killer driver in Nigeria. 

I wish my friends and legal pals were reachable to take me through some legal tutoring on the intricacies involved in court trials as it affects traffic infractions that claim lives. Why is it difficult or impossible to convict? Or why the snail speed in convicting such drivers. Why must a driver who caused the death of others not be slammed behind bars and in addition have his driver’s licence withdrawn, was the poser thrown at me by Martins.

In the absence of my legal friend, I reached out to another whose views I admire and popped the million-dollar question on the difficulty in convicting killer drivers. Why is it difficult to secure conviction in Nigeria in cases where death results from dangerous/unsafe driving practices? I asked. Before you get excited that you now have the opportunity for a pro bono under my watch, kindly note that these views were provided by him during my legal lessons, 101 class. He began by stating that it is the law that traffic offences generally speaking are strict liability offences.

However, there are exceptions as can be seen from the Nigerian Evidence Act as regards speeding offences that require corroboration and some other such offences viewed as more serious traffic offences. More so, trials in cases where death result from dangerous driving or other unsafe driving practices even though are charged under the various road traffic laws or the FRSC Act, depending on the prosecuting agency, the standard and burden of proof are usually as high as it is in ” CRIMINAL TRIALS”. It is to be noted that there is this distinction without a difference wherein traffic offences are viewed from the prism of quasi criminal matters.