Published 15th Apr, 2022

By Abdullah Tijani

The government of the United States of America has accused the Nigeria Police Force of committing significant human rights abuses against Nigerian citizens.

According to a report released by the US Department of State on April 12, Nigerian cops are said to be guilty of arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, torture and unlawful interference of privacy, among others.

“There were credible reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses,” the report reads in part.

“Significant human rights abuses included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and nonstate actors.”

The report also noted that efforts by the Nigerian government to punish the perpetrators of the acts have not yielded positive results.

“The government took steps to investigate, punish, and prosecute alleged abuses by military and police forces, including the now disbanded police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, but impunity for such abuses and corruption remained a problem,” the report reads.

“Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, police and security services at times employed these practices. The law also provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court, but detainees often found such protections ineffective, largely due to lengthy court delays.”

The report also faulted the arbitrary abuse of the police’s power to make arrest without warrant. It stated that security officials often detain the suspects more than 48 hours as required by law.

“The law requires that, even during a state of emergency, detainees must appear before a magistrate within 48 hours and have access to lawyers and family members. In some instances, government and security employees did not adhere to this regulation,” the report further reads.

“Police held for interrogation individuals found in the vicinity of a crime for periods ranging from a few hours to several months. Authorities sometimes asked these individuals to return for further questioning after their release.

“The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest, transport the accused to a police station for processing within a reasonable time, and allow the suspect to obtain counsel and post bail.”

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