NIGERIA POLICE RESPONDS TO A REPORT BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL TITLED :KILLING AT WILL

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Written by Administrator

Thursday, 10 December 2009 13:24

The Nigeria Police Force has read a recent release by Amnesty International titled “Killing at will” in which it catalogued alleged cases of extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings by the Police in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Police Force appreciates the concern of Nigerians as well as local and foreign groups towards making the Nigeria Police Force better suited to meet the safety and security needs of Nigerians. Chief of our mandate is the protection of lives and property, and we are deeply committed to respect the fundamental rights of citizens.

As a responsible institution, the Nigeria Police Force is daily striving to deal with the myriad of challenges associated with policing a developing economy. We are cognisant of our antecedents and recent history, particularly when located in the milieu of many years of colonialism and military rule.

Obviously, in the last ten years of democratic practice in Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force has grown tremendously in its respect for human rights and the values of decent conduct. Officers of all cadres have been trained, and are still being trained to conduct themselves in line with the ethics of the profession. The Nigeria Police Force shall continue to address its energies to issues that impact positively on the quality of life of Nigerians.
In the instant case of Amnesty International’s report, it is quite obvious that the mission is to kill the Nigeria Police, wipe out her records and bury her aspirations.    Amnesty International has an unholy penchant to denigrate Police organisations in most parts of the world. This much was confessed in the introductory part of her book “Understanding policing” published 2007 part of which reads “The Police are one of the key state agencies targeted for criticism by Amnesty International and many other human rights organisations”.

Thus with this mindset, she titled her report on Nigeria Police as “Killing at Will”. For the Mozambique Police, the title was “Licence to Kill”, for Angola it is “Above the Law” and again for Mozambique it is “I can’t believe in justice any more”.   To justify this gusto, Amnesty International spent a lot of bile and vile in feeding her readers with half-truths. It begs the mind why narratives were made of persons allegedly killed by the Police, but their names were withheld. Besides, if Amnesty International really spoke one-on-one with relations of the deceased citizens, and in their remote localities, what stopped them from confronting the local Police with their findings as to get on the-spot response from the law enforcement agencies directly involved in the alleged extra-judicial killings? It is trite that fair hearing should be accorded to parties before a position is taken. By not hearing Police side, Amnesty International has denied Police her human rights.

Be that as it may, the Nigeria Police has already begun investigation into the allegations contained in the Report. Let the public be assured that the Nigeria Police Force does not consort with murderers in uniform.   Any officer found to have violated the rules guiding use of firearms, treatment of persons in custody, torture, bail etc will be appropriately sanctioned in accordance with the laws. There is no immunity for those who operate with impunity, as section 341 of Nigeria Police Regulations states:

“In the individual exercise of his powers as a Police Officer, every Police Officer shall be personally liable for any misuse of his powers, or for any act done in excess of his authority”.

The Nigeria Police believes in openness and accountability, and is willing to partner with well-meaning individuals and groups in her quest to deliver quality service to Nigerians.

ACP EMMANUEL C.S. OJUKWU

FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,

FORCE HEADQUARTERS, ABUJA.

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