Nigerian human rights lawyer and counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has condemned the Extrajudicial Killing in Efurun, Delta State, by police officer.
He also commended the prompt and commendable intervention of the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Rilwan Disu, noting that the swift response signals a measure of institutional responsibility.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, titled “Midweek Musing: Guardians or Executioners? A Republic on Edge as Extra-Judicial Killings Erode the Sanctity of Life in Nigeria,” Ejiofor described the continued normalisation of extrajudicial killings as not merely a security failure but a moral catastrophe.
He stressed that decisive action is long overdue, calling for transparent investigations, public accountability, institutional reforms, and a zero-tolerance stance against the unlawful use of force.
“Anything less would be negligence dressed in official uniform,” he said.
Ejiofor further observed that there is a peculiar tragedy in nation where those constitutionally mandated to protect life appear, with chilling regularity, to preside over its abrupt and unlawful extinguishment.
According to him, Nigeria regrettably continues to flirt dangerously with this contradiction.
“We begin in Efurun, Delta State, where yet another distressing video, widely circulated by activist Harrison Gwamnishi, captures what can only be described as a brazen extrajudicial execution by a trigger-happy police officer. The imagery is not merely disturbing; it is civilisationally indicting.
“One is left to wonder: has human life become so cheap that its preservation is now a matter of administrative discretion rather than a constitutional imperative?
“It is, however, only fair to acknowledge the prompt and commendable intervention of the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Rilwan Disu, whose swift response signals a measure of institutional responsibility,” he stated.
Ejiofor noted that the pattern emerging from the Delta State Police Command is deeply troubling.
He recalled that only weeks ago, armed officers, allegedly acting in furtherance of private interests linked to land-grabbing syndicates in Asaba, engaged in a reckless armed confrontation with operatives from the IRT Force Headquarters.
According to him,a civilian indigene of Okpanam was reportedly shot and remains bedridden.
The human rights lawyer, who holds the chieftaincy title of Dunu-Ezeugosinachi, added that the offending officer, in what he described as a theatrical display of guilt, fled the scene and remains at large.
He stated that the officer’s service weapon, recovered by operatives from Force Headquarters, now stands as mute evidence of a system in dire need of moral and operational recalibration.
According to Ejiofor, “One must ask, with restrained sarcasm: are firearms now ceremonial accessories issued to officers for intimidation, or instruments to be deployed strictly within the confines of the law and established engagement protocols?”
He also referenced the alleged killing of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member in Wuse II, Abuja, describing it as a development that has triggered widespread outrage across the Federal Capital Territory.
He said an eyewitness accounts and circulating reports indicate that the corps member was fatally shot by personnel believed to be from the Nigerian Army.
“The tragedy is compounded not merely by the loss of a promising young Nigerian, but by the institutional reflex that followed: denial.
“Rather than immediate transparency, accountability, and empathy, what the public has been served is a familiar cocktail of evasion and bureaucratic opacity.
“For clarity, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was established to foster unity, discipline, and national integration. That a participant in this noble scheme could meet such a fate at the hands of those sworn to defend the nation raises grave constitutional and moral questions.
“One is compelled to ask: when the defenders of the realm become arbiters of life and death without recourse to law, what then distinguishes a democracy from organised anarchy?” he asked.
Ejiofor argued that it would be intellectually dishonest to ignore the broader systemic malaise.
He cited reports of a paltry daily allowance,reportedly around ₦3,000 for soldiers, noting that while poor welfare does not excuse unlawful killings, it contributes to a volatile environment where frustration, inadequate training, and lack of oversight can lead to tragic outcomes.
He urged the Honourable Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (Rtd), alongside the Chief of Defence Staff, to confront what he described as an uncomfortable truth: that a poorly motivated force lacking accountability poses a danger not only to itself but also to the citizens it is meant to protect.
Addressing the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ejiofor stated that security sector reform is no longer optional but existential.
“Extrajudicial killings do not merely extinguish lives; they corrode institutions, embolden impunity, and normalise lawlessness. Each unpunished act sends a silent but powerful message that the rule of law is negotiable and that power, when armed, need not be accountable.
“History teaches us, often too late, that societies which tolerate such patterns inevitably descend into cycles of violence and distrust. From Latin America’s ‘dirty wars’ to certain post-conflict African states, the lesson is consistent: where security forces operate without restraint, the state itself becomes the primary source of insecurity,” he said.
He reiterated that the continued normalisation of extrajudicial killings is both a security failure and a moral catastrophe, insisting that urgent and decisive action is required to restore public trust and uphold the sanctity of human life.
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