Five Reasons Why Collective Punishment Against Innocent People Is Not Good (OPINION)

By Isaac Asabor

If there is an African Proverb that aptly finds expression in a situation where an innocent person is punished for a crime or wrongdoing he or she did not commit, it is unarguably the one that says “It is injustice for the head to take the knock in the stead of the anus that emitted the fart”.  In a similar vein, cases of teachers meting out collective punishment to pupils in primary school are not uncommon, particularly when the class is noisy. Whenever the foregoing situation arises, both the quiet and noisy pupils are punished.  In a different instance, there were situations where one particular teacher would step into the class, and perceive a foul smell oozing from a section of the class, and he would for that reason bellow in pidgin. “Na who mess for that side?” Oya, make all of una wey dey dat side stand up”. Not done, he would flog the hell out of everyone who sat within the section of the class where the smell of the fart was believed to have emitted from.

Without a doubt, the foregoing punishment is called “Collective Punishment”.  According to the popular online encyclopedia, it is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member of that group, which could be ethnic or political, or just the family, friends, and neighbors of the perpetrator.

For the sake of clarity, a peep into Nigerian history reveals that collective punishments have over the years been meted out to innocent citizens. For instance, the Tiv Riots that occurred at Benue Valley from 1960 to 1964, in Benue State claimed the lives of many citizens during protests for the creation of Benue State from the Northern region.

In a similar vein, in 1966, there was an Anti-Igbo pogrom in July and August in the Northern part of the country where the casualties recorded were as up to 30,000 human lives as there were targeted killings of Igbo people in that part of the country in revenge for the coup of January 15, 1966.

Also, on October 7, 1967, up to 500 men were killed in Asaba during the Nigerian-Biafran War, while on December 24, 1975, an unknown number of lives were massacred in Ugep, Cross River State after soldiers accused the people in the town of murdering a drunk soldier.

As if the foregoing massacres were not atrocious enough, there was another massacre in Umuechem in  Rivers State where several lives were lost after a protest at Shell’s office by youths of the town demanding electricity, water, roads, and compensation following environmental degradation. The protest did not go down well with the power that be, and the police moved in and massacred the people in the town.

Not to be forgotten was the Odi massacre. The massacre was an attack carried out on November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian military on the predominantly Ijaw town of Odi in Bayelsa State. The attack came in the context of recurring conflict in the Niger Delta region over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection. It is estimated that over 900 civilians were killed in the attack. People generally say that the massacre was ordered by the regime of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The military, in its defense, said it was ambushed on its way to Odi. As a result, tensions rose before it entered the village.

Despite the lasting tears and agonies that the foregoing massacres in history have thrown many families into, collective punishment was again meted out to the people of Okuama in Delta State as Soldiers deployed to the Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State resorted to razing down houses in the community, following last weekend’s killing of several military men on a rescue mission to the riverine community.

However, the Nigerian military says it is not responsible for the reprisal attack on the Okuama community as suggested that the retaliatory attack on the community could have been carried out by the rival Okoloba community.

Be that as it may, it is expedient in this context to opine that collective punishment is a violation of International Law. Categorically put, “Collective punishment is prohibited under international law, specifically Common Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 4 of the Additional Protocol II. It is incompatible with the principle of individual responsibility, as it targets individuals who have not committed any offense”.

Secondly, collective punishment is of moral and ethical concern as punishing a community for the actions of an individual or a few individuals is morally questionable and undermines the concept of individual moral responsibility prevalent in many societies.

Analyzed from the same prism, it cannot be mistaken to say that it has counterproductive outcomes. This is because instead of deterring undesired behaviors, collective punishment can breed resentment and hostility among the affected community, potentially leading to further conflict and destabilization.

As if the foregoing evils that characterize collective punishment are not enough, it suffices to say that it undermines trust as such action can erode the trust between the military and civilian populations, making cooperation more difficult and hampering efforts to maintain peace and security. For instance, the perception of a military man by an average Odi indigene could be better imagined than talked about.

Also, it hurts the innocents since it often affects individuals who have no control over the actions of the perpetrators, including women, children, and the elderly, causing undue suffering.

In summary, collective punishment is not only illegal but also counterproductive, as it can lead to increased resistance, undermine moral authority, and harm innocent people.