Judiciary Workers’ Strike: Why Suspects May Be Detained Indefinitely – IGP

The Nigeria Police Force has lamented the strike embarked on by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) as the Force continues to battle overcrowding at its detention facilities.

Last week Tuesday, JUSUN embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike to protest the denial of the constitutionally guaranteed financial autonomy of the judiciary which was also affirmed by the Federal High Court in January 2014.

The strike has prevented the police and other law enforcement agencies from arraigning suspects in court. The court has remained shut since last week.

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Also, suspects who ordinarily do not have to spend more than 48 hours in custody are being detained indefinitely.

On Monday, the Public Relations Officer of the Force, CP Frank Mba, disclosed that the acting Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, had ordered commissioners of police to ensure that unnecessary arrests were avoided.

Mba described the strike as unfortunate, adding that the IGP ordered that alternative dispute resolution should be explored in certain cases and administrative bail should be given where possible.

He said, “Whenever the court system is paused, the police investigations processes suffer greatly. Our investigation processes also suffer based on the fact that certain orders, authorizations that are supposed to be processed from the court are either delayed or impossible to obtain.

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“Consequently, the IG has already issued an internal directive to police commissioners and those heading specialized units to ensure that persons who are qualified to go on bail are granted administrative bail without delay.

“The IG also encouraged officers to explore the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to deal with cases that can be resolved using ADR without infringing on any law. He has also given an express directive that conscious efforts should be made to decongest cells and avoid making frivolous arrests or arrests that are not very important in the advancement of the course of justice.”