Opinion

Justice For Victims Before Compassion For Criminals

By Yahaya Abdulrahman 

The recent rescue of Haj. Amina Abubakar, wife of the late Major General Rabe Abubakar, from the captivity of bandits is undoubtedly welcome news. It brings some measure of relief after a tragic ordeal that claimed the life of a distinguished military officer who dedicated years of his life to the service of Nigeria.

However, her rescue also raises an important question that policymakers must honestly confront. How would Haj. Amina feel if she were told today that the very criminals who abducted her and her husband, subjected them to untold suffering, and ultimately caused his death, could one day be pardoned, rehabilitated, reintegrated into society, empowered with government support, and presented as beneficiaries of public goodwill ?.

She is not alone in this painful experience.

Across Nigeria, thousands of innocent citizens have endured similar or even worse horrors at the hands of insurgents, bandits, militants and other violent criminals. Some men were forced to watch helplessly as their wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers were violated before their eyes. Many families lost their breadwinners. Communities lost respected leaders, professionals, farmers, traders, and traditional rulers whose contributions can never be replaced.

One only needs to recall the tragic deaths of the Sarkin Gobir, Major General Rabe Abubakar, Major General Kabir and countless other victims whose names may never make national headlines but whose absence continues to devastate their families and communities.

What has become of the victims and their loved ones ?. How many widows have received meaningful support from government ?. How many orphaned children have been provided scholarships, counselling, or welfare assistance ?. How many displaced farmers have been helped to return to their lands and rebuild their livelihoods ?. How many families whose homes were burnt and whose means of survival were destroyed have been adequately compensated ?.

For many victims, the answer is painfully clear: nothing or very little. Thousands remain displaced from their ancestral homes. Many have abandoned fertile farmlands out of fear. Entire communities have been uprooted. Homes have been razed. Livelihoods have been destroyed. Widows struggle to feed their children, while countless orphans face an uncertain future with little or no support.

Despite this reality, Nigerians are periodically confronted with proposals to devote public resources to so-called repentant insurgents and bandits; building houses for them, providing financial packages, vocational training, and other forms of empowerment. 

This is where many Nigerians raise legitimate concerns about priorities, justice, and accountability. No society can afford to ignore justice while rewarding those who have inflicted pain on innocent people. Compassion must never come at the expense of accountability. Reconciliation cannot be built upon the neglect of victims.

If anyone deserves the affection, attention, and resources of the state, it is first and foremost the victims of terrorism and banditry; the widows, the orphans, the displaced, the traumatised, and the communities that have borne the heaviest burden of insecurity.

The moral contradiction is difficult to ignore. It is deeply insulting to ask grieving families to watch government use public funds to build houses and provide incentives for individuals who once terrorised them, while the victims themselves remain abandoned and forgotten.

Justice demands a different approach. Any discussion about former insurgents or bandits must begin with truth, accountability, restitution, and support for victims. The wounds inflicted on countless families cannot simply be brushed aside in the name of rehabilitation.

Nigeria must never create a situation where those who obeyed the law, suffered loss, and remained loyal to their country are treated as an afterthought, while those who took up arms against society become the primary beneficiaries of government intervention.

The victims must come first. Their pain must be acknowledged. Their losses must be addressed. Their lives must be rebuilt.

Anything less risks sending a dangerous message that crime pays while innocence suffers. The reality is that thousands of victims continue to struggle largely on their own, with little meaningful support from the state.

A nation that fails to stand with victims while extending benefits to those who victimised them risks undermining public confidence in justice itself. The victims must come first. Their pain must be acknowledged, their losses addressed, and their lives rebuilt. Anything less sends a dangerous message that crime is rewarded while innocence is forgotten.

Yahaya Abdulrahman is a freelance writer and public affairs commentator based in Nasarawa, Nasarawa State.