I have observed the wickedness of man against man. Today I am angry. And when I get angry, terrible things happen.
But I have been reading news of people dying as a result of torture by policemen, soldiers, angry mob, furious parent, friends, and even so called madams.

Ask yourself if it is right to torture another human being.
We hear of mob justice everywhere, it now seems to be a common thing.
Soldiers torture civilians for minor traffic offenses. Policemen, especially Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) are known for torturing suspects in order to obtain confessions under duress. Neglecting our law which states that any testimony or confession obtained under duress is not valid as evidence in the court of law.

United Nation laws also forbid and prohibit torture in any form throughout the world including Nigeria.
Please see more on the United Nation law against torture by clicking below
http://www.hrweb.org/legal/cat.html

I may begin to paste some articles of this law. Nigeria is a signatory to this law.
We must demand change. Please raise your voice against torture by any person, whether security agents or civilians.

If the Mods could get this to front page for sensitization and public enlightenment, it will be a great step forward.

The Covenant follows the structure of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), with a preamble and 33 articles, divided into three parts:

Part I defines torture, and commits parties to taking effective measures to prevent any act of torture in any territory under their jurisdiction. These include ensuring that torture is a criminal offense, establishing jurisdiction over acts of torture committed by or against a party's citizens, ensuring that torture is an extraditable offense, and establishing universal jurisdiction to try cases of torture where an alleged torturer cannot be extradited. Parties must promptly investigate any allegation of torture, and victims of torture must have an enforceable right to compensation. Parties must also ban the use of evidence produced by torture in their courts, and are barred from deporting, extraditing or refouling people where there are substantial grounds for believing they will be tortured.

Parties are also obliged to prevent other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to investigate any allegation of such treatment within their jurisdiction.

Part II governs reporting and monitoring of the Convention and the steps taken by the parties to implement it. It establishes the Committee against Torture, and empowers it to investigate allegations of systematic torture. It also establishes an optional dispute-resolution mechanism between parties and allows parties to recognize the competence of the Committee to hear complaints from individuals about violations of the Convention by a party .

Article 2 of the convention prohibits torture, and requires parties to take effective measures to prevent it in any territory under its jurisdiction. This prohibition is absolute and non-derogable. "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever" may be invoked to justify torture, including war, threat of war, internal political instability, public emergency, terrorist acts, violent crime, or any form of armed conflict. Torture cannot be justified as a means to protect public safety or prevent emergencies. Neither can it be justified by orders from superior officers or public officials. The prohibition on torture applies to all territories under a party's effective jurisdiction, and protects all people under its effective control, regardless of citizenship or how that control is exercised. Since the convention's entry into force, this absolute prohibition has become accepted as a principle of customary international law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_against_Torture

Definition of Torture



Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

— Convention Against Torture, Article 1.1

Beautiful thread.keep the post on.
Just note Nairalanders don't like reading threads with very long details.

Hezron Lorraine: Beautiful thread.keep the post on.
Just note Nairalanders don't like reading threads with very long details.

Thanks bro. This issue concerns everyone. I really tried to keep it short, but I didn't want to leave out certain details.

personally, I believe that persons guilty of inhumane Crimes have forfeited their right to any kind of humanity. capital Offenders should be Executed... about torture, I support it if and only if it is to gain information that might help save Lives...definitely not unnecessarily.

koonbey: personally, I believe that persons guilty of inhumane Crimes have forfeited their right to any kind of humanity. capital Offenders should be Executed... about torture, I support it if and only if it is to gain information that might help save Lives...definitely not unnecessarily.

If you support torture for the sake of obtaining information, don't forget that some innocent persons may be wrongly accused and tortured for crimes they know nothing about.

staggerman:

If you support torture for the sake of obtaining information, don't forget that some innocent persons may be wrongly accused and tortured for crimes they know nothing about.

I agree and is this possibility that weakens the case for torturing. The strength is that torturing can and does yield fruiful info. If you're cool with people dying from armed roberries and bomb blasts that could have been prevented if torturing yielded info. Fine. If not, don't expect government to be able to prevent such if they can't_in the words of Jack Bauer_'do what's necessary' to prevent crime.

Some years ago, a woman claimed that her houseboy stole money from under her pillow. She raised alarm and several young boys rounded up the young boy and began to torture him, forcing him to confess and return the money. He was beaten and stripped unclad. Flogged like a criminal and began to bleed from several parts of his body including his head. With blood gushing from a crack in his skull, and from cuts on his flesh, he maintained his confession of innocence over the allegation,
Not satisfied with his explanation, the group of men poured kerosene over his body, causing his pain to increase. They threatened to burn him. He cried, but all pleas fell on deaf ears.
When they couldn't force him to admit to the crime, they finally left him after several hours of severe torture and humiliation.

That same evening, the woman found her money inside her hand bag. She had kept it there the previous night and had forgotten. She felt bad and tried to call back the young boy. But the deed had been done. AN innocent man had suffered for a crime he did not commit.

I witnessed it all.
The woman was our neighbor.

staggerman: Some years ago, a woman claimed that her houseboy stole money from under her pillow. She raised alarm and several young boys rounded up the young boy and began to torture him, forcing him to confess and return the money. He was beaten and stripped unclad. Flogged like a criminal and began to bleed from several parts of his body including his head. With blood gushing from a crack in his skull, and from cuts on his flesh, he maintained his confession of innocence over the allegation,
Not satisfied with his explanation, the group of men poured kerosene over his body, causing his pain to increase. They threatened to burn him. He cried, but all pleas fell on deaf ears.
When they couldn't force him to admit to the crime, they finally left him after several hours of severe torture and humiliation.

That same evening, the woman found her money inside her hand bag. She had kept it there the previous night and had forgotten. She felt bad and tried to call back the young boy. But the deed had been done. AN innocent man had suffered for a crime he did not commit.

I witnessed it all.
The woman was our neighbor.

this is one in a hundred cases that we see.suffering the consequences of a sin you know nothing about.