Expdonaloaded News; IGP’s warning on rights violations

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, recently decried the N1 billion costs incurred by the police on the settlement of court judgments in rights violation cases within the last three years. He expressed his strong exception to this avoidable waste of money at a recent workshop on the use of force and firearms, organised by the police in conjunction with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The expenditure, he explained, is money that is badly needed to service the many needs of the force.
Arase blamed what he called a “virtual policy vacuum” and Force Order 237, which regulates when and how force may be used by the police, for the situation. This policy vacuum is apparently responsible for our policemen’s easy resort to the use of force and firearms as a first line, instead of a last line, of defence. The police also frequently flout Section 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act (2004), which stipulates that “a person arrested shall not be handcuffed or otherwise bound or subjected to unnecesary restraint, except by order of a court, a magistrate or a Justice of the Peace, unless there is reasonable apprehension of violence, or of an attempt to escape, or unless the restraint is considered necessary for the safety of the person arrested.” In practice, handcuffs are freely used during arrests in the country. There are also instances of ‘accidental discharge.’ The IGP strongly warned policemen to desist from rights violations, adding that offenders would be penalised. Apart from the lack of clear policy guidelines on the use of force and firearms rightly identified by the IGP, there is also the bigger problem of the attitude of our policemen, who appear to have a penchant for treating civilians with incivility. It is the indignities to which many Nigerians were subjected under the past leaderships of the police that Arase is saying must not continue, especially in a democracy where the emphasis is on the rule of law and the dignity of man. We fully agree with him on this matter. His concern for Nigerians who have suffered rights violations and his strong aversion for wasteful judgement debts are commendable. But, the road to redemption is a long one. Ninety-eight officers are currently undergoing training in what we hope is a ‘train-the-trainers’ workshop to begin the long process of effecting an attitudinal change with regard to the use of force in the police. This is a good initiative from the IGP, but a lot more still needs to be done. For a force with close to 400,000 personnel, we doubt that the number of officers currently undergoing this training is enough. Let more officers be trained on this matter as the problem is serious and systemic. After the training and re-orientation of our policemen, what should follow is a stricter enforcement of the law against rights violations. As Arase noted at the workshop: “Officers must be adequately trained, briefed and held accountable for their decision to use force…. We must do our best to modernize NPF’s tactical and operational strategies to commensurate levels with international best practice”. This could not have been better said, and we enjoin the IGP to do just this. Nigerians should also help the police through advocacy for the bridging of the policy gap identified by the police boss. The lacuna in the Force Order 237 should be quickly highlighted to pave way for its amendment. The relevant authorities should take appropriate steps to clear the ambiguities. If they are not cleared, some unscrupulous policemen may continue taking advantage of such gaps to violate the rights of Nigerians. Also, the police must be constantly encouraged to put up their best at all times. The poor conditions under which they carry out their duties may dispose some of them to temperaments and conduct that are not befitting of the force. The new IGP is demonstrating interest in the welfare of the police and we advise that he continues in that line. He should work towards a total overhaul of police working conditions, even as he weeds out bad eggs who are not amenable to the new direction of the force under his leadership. Finally, the Police High Command must be ready to punish those who flout the law on the use of force and firearms. The policemen whose misconduct led to these huge judgement costs should not be allowed to go scot-free. There should be no sacred cows. Examples should be made of offenders, no matter how highly placed. That is the only way IGP Arase can match his good rhetoric with action. The N1 billion incurred as legal costs in the last three years alone on account of these avoidable infractions is too huge for a poorly funded police like ours to pay. Such infractions must be avoided henceforth.