ADELANI ADEPEGBA writes on the increasing rate of police brutality against the citizens and how this can be curbed
“Police torture in the form of physical assault frequently occurs at all levels of police work – crowd control, arrest, investigation and detention. The use of violence by the police against the citizens has been recognised as a widespread and persistent problem in the country by the government, the public and even the police authority,” the report noted.
The National Human Rights Commission in April reported that police personnel carried out 18 extra-judicial killings between March 30 and April 13, 2020. The Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, expressed concern over the development, noting that the death toll from police killings exceeded that of COVID-19.
The mother of two disclosed that she was taken away from a bus she was travelling in from Bori, Khana Local Government Area of the state, to Port Harcourt around 6.30pm and raped by Ebah after he threatened her. A report said the culprit had been ‘summoned’ by the state Commissioner of Police. Last December, a mechanic, Chima Ikwunado, was tortured to death by some policemen in Rivers State. The deceased was arrested alongside four of his friends in the Ikokwu area of Port Harcourt and accused of being robbers. Ikwunado died after he was reportedly tortured by the cops. The police disclosed that four officers linked to the incident had been dismissed and might be prosecuted.
The organisation noted that the Nigerian authorities had failed to prosecute a single officer from the SARS despite anti-torture legislation passed in 2017 and “evidence that its members continue to use torture and other ill-treatment to execute, punish and extract information from suspects.” “The systemic use of torture and other ill-treatment by SARS officers for police investigations and the continued existence of torture chambers within the Nigeria Police Force point to an absolute disregard for international human rights laws and standards.”
He noted, “Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution stated thus, ‘Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and accordingly, no person shall be subjected to torture or degrading treatment’. So, if the police can respect the constitution, there will be no crisis between the police and the citizens, because no law permitted the police to torture or brutalise a citizen.”
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