ALL over the world, the sanctity of human life is a fundamental an inalienable right of all citizens.
Indeed, no citizen of any nation may be deprived of the right to life except in accordance with the relevant laws of the land.
This universal position of law on right to life has from the days of yore as adumbrated in both local and international legal frameworks upholding the sanctity of human life, including, for instance, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and African Charter on Human and People’s Rights all attest to the inviolability of right to life.
One worrisome trend that poses serious threat to the sanctity of human life is domestic violence, which in recent times has assumed a lethal dimension in our society. From violence and cruelty against house helps and other domestic servants to spousal violence, the alarming dimension no doubt leaves much to be desired.
Many victims have been maimed and sometimes killed as a result of domestic violence. Cases of wife battery, physical assault and other forms of domestic violence to say the least, represent intolerance, immaturity and lack of self-control among the perpetrators.
This ugly phenomenon more often than not has foisted on affected families in particular and the society in general tremendous but avoidable loss of human and material resources.
The case of a gospel singer, Osinachi for instance, who died as a result of unmitigated brutality and physical abuse by the husband, remains a sad reference point on the extent of loss that domestic violence can unleash on not only the immediate family and community, but the entire society.
No doubt, the recklessness, rascality and disregard for the sanctity of human life by the spouse has thrown the children, the fans of the late gospel artiste, the human rights community and indeed all lovers of the sanctity of and inviolability of human life into irredeemable loss.
Be that as it may, perpetrators of domestic violence should not delude themselves with the erroneous impression that they will always go scot free after subjecting the society to the pains and pangs of such heinous crime.
The recent conviction and sentencing of late Osinachi’s husband to death by a court of competent jurisdiction, having tried and found him guilty of murder of the gospel singer is a clear warning signal to all persons with such barbaric and bestial tendencies that though the long arm of the law may be slow, it will non-the less descend heavily on the unjust.
While we commend the judiciary for serving justice in the Osinachi saga, we believe that many more victims whose cases have either been swept under the carpet by corrupt and perverse elements in the society. Perpetrators of domestic violence should by now read the hand writing on the wall and seek their fortunes elsewhere or be ready to pay the price.
As a democratic society that subscribes to norms and global practices, we cannot afford to remain entangled in the vortex of lawlessness, violation of sanctity of human lives and other forms of infraction of citizens’ fundamental rights.
We must at all times speak out against violence and infringement on our inalienable rights for as the sages say evil thrives when good men say nothing.
The war against violence is a war that must be won. Violence is for the jungle and not for civilized people.
Opinion leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders and indeed heads of family unit should work assiduously to inculcate in their members particularly the youths the virtue of shunning domestic violence and all forms of social ills plaguing the society.
This will go a long way in reducing to the barest minimum the dangers of domestic and all faces of violence in the society.
Law enforcement agencies should also step up their game in promptly investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence to serve the desired bitter lesson to others engaging in the ugly narrative.
While we commiserate with the children of late Osinachi, the death sentence of the court on their father as a result of his unlawful killing of the late gospel singer, we cannot but urge spouses to shun violence as the end result is bitter, painful and evil.
