This naval officer on Monday November 3 replaced his noble uniform with a contemptible arrogance and mean-spirited deportment. By allowing six armed naval ratings attached to him to go wild, beat and strip a woman naked, Arogundade has further belittled and tarnished the entire navy.

The incident happened on Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. According to eye-witnesses and the video posted on the Internet, the naval ratings hit the woman with their gun butts and beat her with horsewhips. By the time the madness ended, Uzoma Okere, who was forcibly handcuffed and dragged to Palm Kernel House, was left with a battered face, blood-shot eyes and bruises all over her body. The interview granted by Ms Okere some days after the unfortunate incident confirms the sickness of these military men.

Okere, herself the daughter of a retired naval officer who was incidentally Arogundade's senior at the military school, was accused of not quickly giving way for the naval officer's convoy. The offence, as for me, is as arrogant in nature as Arogundade and his men's peasant behaviour. In defending such jungle injustice, these naval cads should have come up with a better accusation. In fact, there's no excuse to justify such barbarous display of power.

Aren't naval men supposed to show high or elevated character? The explanation by Arogundade and his puppies to justify the assault on Okere is implausible. It actually exposed them as stupid and incompetent people; officers who are ignorant of the law! Or were they simply acting above the law of the land - as usual? Whatever, chapter 25 section 252 of the Nigerian Criminal Code, which applies in Lagos State where the incident took place, states:

“A person who strikes, touches, or moves, or otherwise applies force of any kind to, the person of another, either directly or indirectly, without his consent, or with his consent, if the consent is obtained by fraud, or who by any bodily act or gesture attempts or threatens to apply force of any kind to the person of another without his consent, in such circumstances that the person making the attempt or threat has actually or apparently a present ability to effect his purpose, is said to assault that other person, and the act is called an assault.”

Illegal act

There's no doubt that Arogundade and his hound guards perpetrated an illegal act under the law of Nigeria, hence they must be prosecuted accordingly. Meanwhile, I am not so naive that prosecuting a man like Arogundade would be difficult as it is likely to be swept under the carpet - as usual. "President" Yar'Adua intervention may not even accelerate the course of justice. Meanwhile I don't think a policy of intervening being adopted by Yar'Adua in such cases is appropriate. It clearly shows, even an admission that there is no suitable institution for the desired purpose.

Of course, we have seen such pervert of justice from the Navy Espirit de Corps headquarters. Listen to who's talking about the incident. Navy’s Spokesperson, Commodore David Naibada in his poor attempt to defend his men's conduct says, "The lady ‘provoked’ them because she snatched a horsewhip from one of the men." If I may ask, why do these naval men carry horsewhip? Surely the horrendous assault on Ms Okere was not the first and probably may not be the last.

For, how many of such brutal display of power have gone unnoticed or recorded? Plenty! Three years ago, one Air Force officer shot a commercial motorcyclist dead at Allen Avenue just because the boy had brushed his car. The convoy of the Governor of Imo state, Ikedi Ohakim once molested a mother of two at Ikoyi over what his aides called "tribal arrogance". Even police officers routinely harass, detain and molest women accused of dressing "indecently".

Okere’s version

Ms Okere says, "A man (Abdulazeez Abdulahi) who tried to challenge them was hit on the head with the butt of a gun," adding that other two ladies (they are pregnant) in her car were also dragged out and beaten up. Do I hear you saying what kind of country is this? The human rights organizations must take up this case, I think the evidence is visible enough to make it a piece of cake. There must be a way to stop this primitive, untutored and uncouth attitude by the uniform men whose duty should be service.

It may not be as large as that of Martin Luther King's Jr, but I have a dream. There come a certain time when my people will react spontaneously to such official misuse of uniform. That day I am talking about will be the beginning of a quiet non-violence resistance against those who think they are above the law of the land. But, isn't it possible for the government to ban the use of siren in certain quarters where it’s being abused? The move by the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, to ban visiting governors and top government officials from using sirens in the state is highly commendable. However, the implementation and enforcement of such law is another thing entirely.

Lastly, I am compelled to ask, did Ms Okere's father who is now the Sergeant-At Arms of the National Assembly, also displaced such coarse manner during his time in the navy? If so, although it doesn't justify the assault on Ms Okere, it would have been the case of a stone thrown in the market. Even then her case only represents the symbol of official brutality, dangerous arrogance, and disrespect for the land's constitution which we are fighting against.