VOA常速英语2007年-Nigerian Police Kill 785 Suspected Armed Robber

By Sarah Simpson
Lagos
15 November 2007

Nigerian police say they have killed 785 suspected armed robbers and lost 62 of their own officers in the last three months. Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Nigerian police and security forces of killing¹ robbery suspects instead of arresting them. The country's jails are packed with people, most of whom have never been brought to trial. Sarah Simpson reports from Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos.

Mike Okiro, Acting² Inspector³ General of Police, was quoted in in Nigerian newspapers Thursday as saying that during a 90-day review period under his leadership, nearly 1,600 suspected armed robbers had been arrested and 785 more suspects shot and killed. Some 62 police officers had also been killed in the same period, he said.

Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Nigerian security forces of being too quick to pull the trigger on suspected criminals rather than make arrests. Nigerians have nicknamed the Nigerian Mobile Police, who are authorized⁴ to carry semi-automatic guns, "Kill and Go".

Police Spokesman, Haz Iwendi, denies a failure on the part of the police. He says the police do not have the capacity to cope with crime levels.

"When the environment is cozy⁵ for the criminal and the police do not have the capacity to effectively cope with the crisis, what you find is that there will be causalities on both sides," said Iwendi.

Iwendi says the large numbers of deaths are also attributable to an increase in armed bank robberies. Regarding human rights issues, he says police have human rights, too.

"It takes only a bullet to kill a man and that bullet does not know human rights," said Iwendi. "So when people are talking about human rights, let us remember the human rights of the police officers."

Violent crime is a major problem in Nigeria, particularly in the cities, where armed gangs invade homes, businesses and banks to rob them. Whole neighborhoods of the commercial capital Lagos are regularly locked down as armed gangs move from house to house hauling away property and cash. Drivers stuck in traffic jams are a favorite target, too.

President Umaru Yar'Adua says he is committed to upholding rule of law in Nigeria. But rights groups say the country is still recovering from more than 15 years of military rule when security forces became used to operating with impunity⁶.

In a recent address in the capital Abuja, Mr. Yar'Adua promised to ease congestion⁷ in prisons and rehabilitate⁸ convicts.

The majority of inmates⁹ in Nigeria's packed and disease-filled prisons have never been charged with a crime. The U.N. last year accused police of torturing detained suspects to extract confessions¹⁰.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

4 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

5 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

6 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

7 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

8 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

9 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》