DELTA State Police Command has restated, not only the ban on use of bangers, knockouts and fireworks, but also reaffirmed its determination to make offenders face the wrath of the law. Indeed, the ban has been a rhetoric for too long and with insecurity, it is time to take its enforcement seriously.
Similar message has been sent to citizens by other police commands across all states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja apparently as part of police proactive disposition to the prevention of crime before, during and after the festive period.
We commend the Delta State Police Command and its counterparts across the nation for sending this timely warning to persons who erroneously believe that Yuletide and similar celebrations cannot be complete without the boisterous use of bangers, knockouts and fireworks.
The warning can also signify the Nigerian Police’s determination towards giving eloquent expression to its statutory and time-honoured responsibility revolving around prevention, detection and prosecution of crime and criminality in the country.
Besides, prosecution of the perpetrators of the unauthorized use of bangers, knockouts and fireworks will signpost a strong lesson to perpetrators that nobody is above the law.
It will also save the society, the innocent and law abiding citizens from the avoidable and asphyxiating vortex of nuisance and apprehension precipitated by uncontrolled and illegal use of the banned items.
Furthermore, enforcement of the ban will go a long way in preventing hoodlums from diverting the focus of the police and other security operatives during and after the festive period.
Be that as it may, we are of the firm view that mere restatement of the ban on these items and expression of a determination to enforce the relevant laws against offenders which has become an annual ritual from the police without matching words with actions will not serve the desired purpose.
Indeed, experience over the years have shown that this perennial warning and affirmation by the police to strictly apply the law against offenders with regards to unlawful use of explosives, including bangers and knockouts, especially around the Yuletide, more often than not, end up as mere grandiloquence as parents, children, and shop owners brazenly ignore the warning with reckless abandon.
While this neglect, failure or refusal by the relevant authorities to enforce the ban in the past may be dismissed as mere dereliction of duties, today, wisdom dictates that there should be a paradigm shift from mere rhetoric to practical, firm and resolute approach to addressing the issue.
For instance, with the soaring security challenges now foisted on our nation by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers, superior wisdom demands that no stone be left unturned in our battle against these criminal elements in our midst and since bangers and knock-outs sound similar to gunshots, they should remain banned especially during the festive period and in the interest of national security.
Besides, an indiscriminate use of fireworks could precipitate fire outbreaks and unimaginable disaster, especially during the dry season of the year.
In the prevailing circumstances, we advocate a clear, firm and enforceable plan of action driven by a proactive and irrevocable commitment to making offenders face the long arm of the law.
This can be achieved by the law enforcement agents promptly apprehending and prosecuting offenders, including shop owners, parents and indeed any citizen that engages in or encourages, the sale, use, storage or manufacture of the banned items.
Certainly, this will serve as a deterrent to others who thrive in unmitigated culture of impunity, rascality, lawlessness, recklessness and nuisance in our society during and beyond festive period.
The mass media, civil society organisations, school heads, religious, opinion, and community leaders should sensitise parents and other stakeholders to drum this warning into the ears of their children and wards to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law.
While wishing all a crime free Yuletide in advance, there is an inexorable need for us to be vigilant and law abiding as, according to Theodore Roosevelt, “No man is above the law and no man is below it, nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.”
