DSP Babaseyi Is Right But Nigerians Will Not Hear It

DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, wrote something yesterday that every Nigerian on this app needs to read twice. He said an allegation is not a conviction. He said social media now has a verdict before the police even open a case file. And he is completely correct.

He pointed out that once a woman says "I was raped" and a man says "I did not rape her," the internet delivers judgment before any investigation. His words: "The courtroom now has a competitor. It is called the internet. And sometimes, it is faster than justice. But speed is not the same as truth." He also raised something people avoid, that under the VAPP Act, a man can also be a victim of rape. That alone will make some people angry, but it is the law.

Here is where I will be blunt. The same people screaming for justice online are the ones who cannot name a single police station or know what a First Information Report is. You want due process for yourself but you want mob justice for the next person. Babaseyi asked a simple question: stop asking whose side you are on, ask whose side the truth is on. So be honest, if someone accused you tomorrow on X and the crowd already decided, would you still be shouting social media trial is justice?