Lockdown: IG Orders Police to Respect Human Rights
AI, Falana task FG, security agencies on rights violations
and in Lagos in Abuja
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Adamu Mohammed, yesterday warned police personnel against violation of the rights of Nigerians in enforcing the restriction of movements imposed by federal and state governments to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Mohammed, in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said all police officers deployed in the enforcement of the orders on the restriction of movements must be professional, humane and show utmost respect for the citizenry.
The IG's directive was issued against the backdrop of reports of alleged maltreatment of people suspected to be violating the restriction orders by the police and other security agents.
Human rights watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), and activist lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), also spoke on the alleged rights abuse by security agents with a plea to the federal government to ensure the protection of citizens' dignity.
According to the statement issued yesterday in Abuja, the IG also directed that persons on essential duties, duly exempted from the restriction orders, should be accorded unfettered access to their places of duties.
He ordered Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs) to ensure robust anti-crime patrols around vulnerable targets such as markets, shops and medical facilities across the nation.
The statement said: “The Inspector-General of Police, M.A Adamu, has cautioned officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force currently deployed for the enforcement of the lockdown and social restriction orders to ensure that the rights of Nigerians are not infringed upon under any pretext.
"Also, persons on essential duties, duly exempted from the restriction orders, should be accorded due courtesies and unfettered access to and fro their places of duty.
“The IG notes that the global community is now in extra-ordinary times, with the lockdown taking its tolls on every component of our national life. Therefore, all police officers deployed in the enforcement of these restriction orders must be professional, humane and tactful and must show utmost respect to the citizenry.”
Adamu also quoted as directing command commissioners of police to immediately commence monitoring of police officers deployed in enforcement duties in their areas of responsibilities.
“The IG has equally charged zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) across the nation to ensure adequate supervision of personnel under their watch, as well as due compliance with the standard operating procedure guiding this special task.
“The AIGs and CPs are also to ensure robust anti-crime patrols and surveillance around vulnerable targets such as medical facilities, shops, and markets, residential areas, financial institutions and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) points, amongst others so that criminals do not take undue advantage of the current COVID-19 challenge to perpetrate crimes against the citizenry."
The IG thanked Nigerians for their resilience and voluntary compliance with the social restriction orders and cooperation with the police at all times and urged citizens to continue to observe all precautionary measures issued by relevant health authorities in order for the nation to defeat the pandemic.
AI, Falana task FG, Security Agencies on Rights Violations
AI and Falana, however, tasked the federal government to give clear instructions to security agencies not to abuse their powers and for President Muhammadu Buhari to stop soldiers from enforcing the COVID-19 regulations.
Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Ms. Osai Ojigho, in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said the security officials were causing Nigerians more pains than they expected.
She added that while acknowledging the challenges and efforts made by the federal government to fight COVID-19 across Nigeria, there were worries from reports and videos circulating on social media showing violations of human rights.
She noted that violations include tortures, beatings and inhuman treatments by law enforcement agencies tasked with ensuring compliance with the lockdown.
“While acknowledging the size of the challenge and efforts made by authorities to fight COVID-19 across Nigeria, we are also concerned by reports and videos circulating on social media showing violations of human rights, that include beatings by law enforcement agencies tasked with ensuring compliance with the lockdown,” Ojigho said.
She added that as the nation observes the 14-day lockdown, the rights of citizens must be respected and protected, including the right to health care, security, and access to sufficient food and water.
Falana, in a statement, described the deployment of soldiers to enforce the lockdown as illegal.
He added that the videos of soldiers torturing civilians showed the impunity of the military.
He said: “The several video clips, which captured the unwarranted brutalisation of the people, have been circulating at home and abroad. As usual, the military authorities have publicly defended the rampaging troops by dismissing the video clips.
“In a desperate bid to cover up the atrocious behaviour of the torturers, the military authorities deliberately refused to conduct any investigation into the complaints of the victims.
“Although, while not denying the authenticity of the video clips of horror, the Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, said that ‘the videos were old clips of past incidents that took place in 2012 and 2013.’
"Assuming, without conceding, that the incidents recorded in the video clips took place in the past, were the culprits identified and sanctioned by the military authorities?”
Falana recalled that based on a similar video clip, which recently exposed a group of policemen who had engaged in the brutalisation of some traders in Lagos under the pretext of enforcing the COVID-19 Regulations, the IG had ensured that the culprits were promptly identified and arrested for the purpose of prosecuting them.
He described the civilised conduct of the police chief as a demonstration of the readiness of the current police leadership to stop the involvement of police personnel in the crude infringement of the fundamental rights of the Nigerians to dignity.