How lawyers can mobilize Nigerians to end police brutality

This concludes the narrative from yesterday of police brutality as evidenced by extrajudicial execution of suspects

THE money and other assets seized from the suspects are never returned to the family members or friends of the deceased but are shared among police officers. Without any rehabilitation for the untrained executioners, they are unleashed on society with their guns.

The uniformed murderers then turn around and use their weapons to kill members of the public, including their own relatives. Thus,  the brutal killing of poor citizens by police and other security operatives has become a routine occurrence.

But we only complain whenever the unlicensed police executioners kill lawyers, doctors, journalists, and other victims whose killings trigger protests!

In frustration, Mr. Boms Worgu, a former Rivers State Attorney General, stated that “the Banabas Igwes of the NBA assassinated pair we remembered the other day. That was long ago. There was Henry Ndionyenma Nwankwo, matcheted by yet-to-be-apprehended men, right there in his chambers, less than two years ago.

In Port Harcourt recently, two colleagues were similarly dispatched, and many more. In all, nothing happened after they were mowed down except wailing and condemnations. Unfortunately, this addition will soon pass, and calm will return, only to be disrupted by another killing! That is how we are.”

Nigerian lawyers must ensure that Mrs. Bolanle Raheem does not die in vain like others who were dispatched to their untimely graves before her. Indeed, the best tribute that the NBA can pay to the deceased is to use her cold blooded murder to mobilise the Nigerian people to end police brutality in Nigeria.

To start with, police checkpoints must be removed from Nigerian roads. The roads should be patrolled by combined teams of police and road safety commission officers. The use of arms by policemen on duty should be strictly regulated according to the service rules. No lethal options such as batons, tear gas, water, etc should be employed in dispersing crowds.

In Femi Falana v Chief of Army Staff & Ors (Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1939/19), the presiding judge, Railwan Aikawa, declared that the involvement of armed soldiers in the maintenance of internal security is illegal and unconstitutional. On the basis of the judgment, all checkpoints manned by soldiers should be dismantled by the Chief of Army Staff without any further delay.

In the recent case of the State Security Service v. Godwin Emefiele (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022), the Federal High Court assigned and determined the case within two days because it pertained to the personal liberty of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The NBA’s leadership should prevail on the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and heads of other courts to ensure that all fundamental rights cases are promptly assigned and expeditiously determined, regardless of the  class status of the applicants.

The Anti-Torture Act of 2017 prescribes that any police officer or law enforcement officer who subjects a citizen to torture is liable to be tried and, if convicted, to imprisonment for 25 years.

If any person dies as a result of torture, the police officer indicted is liable to be tried for murder. The NBA should direct its human rights committees to take up all cases of torture meted out to citizens by public and private individuals in society.

The NBA should press the federal and state governments to release the reports and put the judicial panels’ recommendations into action.Otherwise, the NBA should adopt legal measures to compel the governments to implement the recommendations. Furthermore, the NBA should mount  pressure on state governments to enact laws for the establishment of human rights bodies for the purpose of protecting the human rights of citizens. This was the principal resolution adopted by the National Economic Council after the  #EndSARS protests.

As a matter of urgency, the NBA should ensure that a legal practitioner is assigned to every police station to monitor human rights compliance in accordance with Section 66(3) of the Police Establishment Act 2020. The human rights committees of the 128 branches of the NBA should liaise with the National Human Rights Commission and the Legal Aid Council to ensure the observance of human rights in the country.

The NBA should collaborate with state attorneys general towards the successful prosecution of police and military personnel who engage in the extrajudicial killing of criminal suspects and other citizens. At the same time, the unlawful killing of police officers by military officers and criminal gangs should always be challenged by Nigerian lawyers.

The NBA should liaise with the police and military authorities to ensure that a human rights course is made a compulsory subject in all police colleges and military academic institutions. This is the best way to ensure that members of the police and armed forces recognise their constitutional responsibilities to protect the life and property of every citizen.

Finally, it is submitted that unless the above suggestions are implemented by the relevant stakeholders in alliance with the Nigerian people, the callous killing of Mrs. Bolanle Raheem will only be an addition to the long list of Nigerians that have been killed so recklessly by security forces. And it will be enormously tragic for society.