oko Haram' is a slogan of a hitherto obscure Yusufiya sect, an Islamic militant group, with followers based in the Sahelian states of northern Nigeria. Its mission: To obliterate western influence and education in the country. Although it is virtually impossible to achieve this objective in a diverse and secular state like Nigeria, the sect unleashed terror on innocent citizens in Bornu, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano States during the last week of July and, in the process, about 700 lives were reported lost with police stations sacked.

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The Yusufiya sect by any logic went beyond the bound of decency in attacking police stations and killing police officers. Their affront in taking up a security arm of the government indicates that this was not a casual outburst of a fanatical group but a premeditated plan to inform the larger society that force and mayhem will be tools for achieving the ultra-religious objective of the sect. Members of the sect demonstrated utter disregard for human lives by using innocents as human shields. This strategy contributed to the heavy human toll witnessed in the latest conflict since the army and police deployed maximum force to quell the rampage.

It is now history and time to pick the pieces from the rubble. Religious extremism is not a novelty in the country as we have, with the return to democratic rule, in the last ten years, witnessed recurrent religious upheavals and attendant burning of houses of worship and murdering of innocent citizens. The religious tinge injected into the body politic has contributed to the lack of trust in the nation being able to provide a level plain field for all and sundry.

This is exacerbated by the northern Islamic zealotry to ensure that Sharia remains firmly rooted in some northern states. Theoretically, there is nothing inherently wrong with a people's way of life. It is the wielders of Islamic religious zealotry and their interpretations of the tenets in the Holy Quran that send jitters into fellow citizens who are non-Muslims. Hence, fanatical Islamic sects which are intolerant of other people's religious beliefs are mushrooming all over the world.

Opinions have been expressed in newspapers and online media on the pros and cons of the way and manner in which the police and the army executed their responsibilities in this latest saga of violence. Consequently, both the sect and the police are now placed on the bars of public opinion and international human rights watchers. Nothing can excuse the Yusufiya sect members in their maniacal outbursts nor can the Nigerian police under whose umbrella all citizens should seek refuge in times of distress be excused for extra-judicial killings of suspects.

There are many questions which beg for answers. Once more the security lapses in the country are made manifest; and, in the knee-jerk reaction to smother the upheaval, the rule of law was sidestepped for a primitive mode of terminating the lives of defenseless, captured, sect leaders and their alleged sponsors without exploring due process enshrined in our constitution. This circumvention of normal judicial process for extra-judicial murders by the police tells a lot about the level of training of the Nigerian police and, unarguably, sends trepidation into rational citizens.

It is absurd for law enforcement officers to employ an 'eye for an eye tactic' to summarily execute captured sect members. Are the police convinced that innocent people were not killed in the mad orgy to exact revenge? The police actions go against the grain of human decency. It wittingly extirpates investigation of the motives for the uprising. For unraveling the root causes of crisis should have been a priority that would help nip in the bud any future occurrence.

Unfortunately, the trigger-happy police deployed to arrest the situation decided to be the jury, judge and executioner. The latter writes another sad chapter in the history of policing in our country and validates the unaccountable nature of those who swore to uphold the rule of law. In a democratic setting, what developed in Maiduguri and other affected towns during the crisis, especially between the police and captured sect members, cannot be allowed to pass by without vigorous investigation and punitive measures meted out to those who kill defenseless people in cold blood. Words are not enough to describe the barbarity and sadism played out by the Nigerian police as shown by videos in online media sites.

Another factor worth emphasizing is the buck-passing of the SSS, who, in actuality, are supposed to pre-empt this type of uprising. Perhaps it is important to remind the SSS that the role of the organization is not limited to detaining only critics of government, but includes ensuring the safety of the citizens from agent provocateurs. The loyalty of the SSS is to the Nigerian people who pay them, and as such ought to have the capability for intelligence gathering. Information shows that the SSS was aware of the activities of this sect, and according to a report no action was taken. The SSS rather than arresting suspects, prior to the sect unleashing terror and killings, is leaving a sour taste in the mouth by trying to absolve itself from blame. The failure to contain the crisis in a civilized manner is the failure of all security apparatus of state and cannot be placed squarely on the door of a particular arm of the security agencies.

And to Mr. President, who is the Chief Security Officer of the nation, I say welcome from Brazil. It is agonizing to see that you acted like Nero who fiddled whilst Rome was burning. This jetting out for official visit under such grim situation of extra-judicial killings says a lot about your sensitivity to your oath of office and the lives of your citizens. Now that Brazil's visit has come and gone, one is expectant that you would promptly address the incessant uprisings in the country through the lenses of the rule of law.

Unmistakably, the problems besetting the Nigerian nation are legion. They have reached boiling point and force and extra judicial killings cannot solve the underlying currents of discontent in our county. A new social contract that will enforce justice, equity, provision of employment for educated youths, basic infrastructure, humanism and minimal profligacy must be drawn between the political elite and the Nigerian people. Trust must be built between the government and the governed. Security agencies must apply themselves to preemptive measures rather than use fire brigade tactics.

Finally, the latest mayhem is another data in the statistics of religious uprisings in Nigeria. For the first time the macabre brutality employed to quell the sectarian uprising was beamed to the world. It is germane that the Federal Government set up a high powered investigative panel to unearth the root causes of the crisis and the methodology utilized by the security agencies in putting the situation under control. Extra judicial killings must not be allowed to replace the normal judicial process, and those security officers found culpable in pulling the trigger on captured sect members should be made to face the music as dictated by our statutes. This is no time to condone barbarous actions from our security operatives.