Editorial: Now Is The Time To Sign The Police Reform Bill

 

On December 27, 2019, a trigger-happy policeman shot dead an unarmed civilian who had just departed from the Wizkid Starboy Fest concert.  On Sunday, March 31, 2019, men of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) shot and killed Kolade Johnson. On Saturday, August 10, 2019, a tailor, identified as Biliki, lost her life in the Ijegun area of Lagos state when she was hit by a stray bullet from the officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Team. On August 21, 2019, a video surfaced on the internet of SARS operatives shooting dead two disarmed robbery suspects in Lagos. These extrajudicial killings and many more have led to the inevitable question of “When Will The President Sign The Police Reform Bill?”  

 

Officers of the Nigeria Police Force are notorious for their use of force and rabid exploitation of the citizens they are paid to serve. The incidences listed above are just a few out of the many crimes committed against the Nigerian citizenry.

 

On April 17, 2019, the 8th Senate, under the leadership of Olubukola Saraki passed the Police Reform Bill, 2019 (SB. 683), the first of its kind since 1943, according to the Senate President. The Bill seeks to create a Police Force that is more responsible and responsive to the needs of the public as enshrined in its mandate and in line with the values of fairness, justice and equity.

 

The bill was arrived at following the cries of Nigerians on the need to have a reformed police unit devoid of needless killings of its people. A  Public Hearing held on Wednesday, 5 December 2018 had in attendance the Inspector General of Police (IGP); Chairman, Police Service Commission; Director-General of the State Security Service; Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria; Civil Society Organizations; etc.

 

This bill seeks to make the Nigeria Police more effective and efficiently carry out its duties in the protection and service of the citizens. It is also “based on the principles of accountability and transparency, and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

 

The above-stated provisions of the bill regarding the way the officers of the Nigeria Police Force conduct themselves when engaging with citizens are fiercely absent when these gun-trotting men take to the streets to carry out their services.

 

In the Bill, there is a part that falls in line with the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials set down by the United Nations. In that Code of Conduct, Article 5 expressly states: “No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any law enforcement official invoke superior orders or exceptional circumstances such as a state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national security, internal political instability or any other public emergency as a justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

 

The Bill recognises the provisions of human rights in accordance with the Nigerian constitution. What this brings to the table, regarding the way the police handles whoever is suspected of a crime, is that there can be no ill-treatment of said suspect, also providing strict laws regarding what can be construed as a warrant for arrest, precluding any unlawful and arbitrary detentions that have become commonplace in the country, as many citizens have often cried, after a successful bailout.

 

In the Bill, the police are tasked with the following duties: detect and prevent crimes while protecting the rights and freedom of every citizen, keep the sanity in the communities, protect the lives and properties of citizens, ensure the enforcement of rules and regulation set down by other agencies, to provide assistance to anyone in need and work collaboratively with other agencies.

 

To protect the force from the caprices of whimsical politicians, the Bill provides mechanisms that will insulate the force, ensuring that the police force is accountable for its actions. It also proposes the creation of the Federation of the Nigeria Police Council that seeks to supervise the force, take applications, and also nominate and serve as advisory to the president on matters regarding the appointment and removal of the Inspector General of Police.

 

The Inspector General, according to the provisions of the Bill, will be tasked to aid the access to legal support for suspects or anyone who is accused of a crime or are in the custody of the police.

 

In a society where the police force is thoroughly held accountable for their actions, they would be required to file their arrests properly as well as keep a record of those who have gone through their holding facilities. With the gratuitous force that the men of the Nigeria Police Force employ when apprehending suspects, they lessen the trust and confidence of the people in the force.

 

The Bill, when signed into law by the president, will hopefully see a lot of changes in the force, as the presence of the men in black inspires only fear for one’s life and not the air of tranquillity that should be felt. Certain parts of the Bill will have Nigerians hopeful for a better and saner police force. Sections of the bill state the acts that officers of the force should not engage in:

 

“A suspect shall not be arrested in place of a suspect.

 

“A suspect shall be accorded humane treatment, having regard to his right to the dignity of his person, and not be subjected to any form of torture cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

 

“The authority having custody of the suspect shall notify the next of kin or relative of the suspect of the arrest at no cost to the subject.”

 

One might reason that these are things that a discerning individual should know, but these, unfortunately, are missing in whatever rule book our police force goes by.

 

Nigerians heave daily in pain over the poor service that our police force serves and are demanding a change. Today, not tomorrow or next week is the best time for the president to do what is necessary, as many Nigerians lose their lives daily to these people that have been tasked to make them, the citizens, feel safe.

 

It is easy to conclude that the politicians are seemingly insulated from the actions of these men that act with impunity, and it will be in every way right because all the people have now are only words that do nothing but affirm what we already know, that until conclusive action is taken until a muzzle is kept on the snapping jaws of the police, the people are on their own to tend to their wounds.

 

So, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to do the needful by signing the Police Reform Bill to save another life from being taken needlessly.