IS there any other manifestation of the consequences of the collapse of the moral value system in a society other than the preponderance of aberrant behaviour amongst citizens and the frequency of criminal activities? It is terrifying that some people are innately wicked and selfish, and do not care how their toxic conduct affects other people, not even when the latter are impressionable minors. It is as if they have not been raised to behave otherwise, and have no fear of the criminal justice system. The consistent commission of heinous crimes against humanity, including the violation of the innocence of minors, is evidence of how low the society has sunk. Yet, such incidents are a recurring decimal in this clime. Just last Wednesday, the Jigawa State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) identified the lifeless body of a three-year-old girl dumped in a bush in Kiyawa Local Government Area. The toddler, Harira Yakubu Bala, a resident of Sabon Gari, Kiyawa Local Government Area of the State, had been reported missing a day earlier but her corpse was discovered in the bush by the NSCDC operatives, who evacuated it to hospital for examination and investigation.
Sadly, following medical examination, it was confirmed that the deceased child had been raped, molested and murdered by a yet-to-be-identified person! Is it not strange that a demented, callous and irresponsible adult could violate the innocence of a three-year-old girl who was not capable of having any sensual feelings, let alone understanding what the wicked outlaw did to her? But even at that, she was ‘tortured’, as it were, before being murdered as her lifeless body was reportedly riddled with injuries. Alas, such cases are not new. For instance, in June, we addressed the case of a demented pervert who defiled a four-year-old child in Niger State. The girl’s distraught parents had woken up from sleep in front of their house after receiving natural breeze during hot weather, only to later discover that their four-year-old girl had been abducted and sexually assaulted. Like that terrible incident, the current horrendous incident is an eloquent exemplification of moral decadence in the society. It is really saddening and disturbing. The disheartening, wicked and barbaric incident reflects very badly on the community where it occurred, the state and country at large. An innocent baby molested, raped and killed in a 21st century Nigeria is an abomination, the recurrence of which must be prevented by all lawful means.
The motivation for killing the child after brutally abusing and violating her is yet unclear because even without being traumatised, Harira couldn’t have been in a position to identify her assailants given her impressionable age. She was a baby by every definition. The likelihood that the outlaw most probably defiled the child until she gave up the ghost is sickening. And that possibility makes the incident even more ignoble, pathetic and horrendous. What is the society becoming? An animal kingdom? Is the society sliding into the Hobbesian state of nature where life is brutish and where beastly and bestial conduct and occurrences are prevalent?
The horrific incident necessarily raises other posers: Who was the last to see Harira before her abduction, defilement and murder? Who was with her in the first instance? At three, the victim still needed utmost care, love and affection and so it is unthinkable that her parents allowed her to be by herself to the extent that they were oblivious that she had been taken away from them. Just where were her parents before the incident? And where were other adults and neighbours? After all, African culture encourages collective care in parenting. Or is that vital aspect of the society’s quasi-communal living diminishing? This incident didn’t happen in an urban centre, so why is it that no member of the rural/semi-urban community where everyone knows each other fairly well saw what happened? Or has the inclination towards individuality that prevails in the urban centres taken over the countrysides too?
The action of the rapist is tragic. That an infant was raped and murdered speaks volumes about the mental state of her violator. Indeed, it takes a depraved mind to even think of, let alone commit, such a horrendous crime. The prevalence of similar incidents in the society is distressing. We, therefore, urge parents and guardians to brace up to their role in the lives of their children and wards. It is instructive that while security agencies have a duty to protect lives and properties, parents should be the first line of defence for their children, especially the impressionable ones. Thus, such a sad occurrence as the instant case, which could have been prevented if the parents of the deceased had been alive to their responsibility, is most unfortunate and intolerable. Truth be told, no form of dereliction of duty in parenting should be condoned if children are to stay alive and/or grow up to become responsible adults. Meanwhile, we urge the NSCDC and the police to launch a painstaking inquiry into the incident and apprehend the defiler and murderer without further delay.