Nigerians
from the southeast have been urged to desist from always giving bribe to
policemen and to cultivate the habit of fighting for their fundamental human
rights.
This was one
of the major issues discussed during a police stakeholders meeting held in
Anambra State.
Rule of Law
and Accountability Advocacy Centre, (RULAAC) in collaboration with the Anambra
State Police Command, with support from Open Society Justice Initiative,
fostered the Police Stakeholders Partnership Forum (PSPF) in Anambra State as a
platform for monitoring compliance by the Nigeria Police Force with the Anambra
State Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
The
Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said: “The platform will
serve as a mechanism for holding NPF personnel to account for rights
violations, while growing skills and awareness to ensure prevention and
reduction of such violations.”
According to
Nwanguma, during the parley, it was noted that the prevailing attitude or
culture of ‘settle and move on’ by citizens in the Southeast region,
particularly, Anambra State, encourages the police to see them as easy preys
and therefore continue to treat them as preys.
“Citizens in
the region must change their laisser-faire attitudes towards issues of human
rights and be conscious and determined to defend their rights during encounters
with the police and other law enforcement and security agencies,” said
Nwanguma.
Nigerians
were further urged to be firm in defending their rights and shun the attitude
of being in a hurry to offer bribe to the police officers in order to move on,
even when they have not committed any offence.
The activist
stressed: “Citizens must defend their rights even if it has to cost them time.
They must imbibe the virtues of patience, resilience and vigilance if they have
to secure their liberty.”
He called
for more and regular engagements such as through town hall meetings at
community levels and media engagements in order to sustain the sensitisation
effort pioneered by the PSPF and to increase citizens’ awareness of their
rights under the ACJL and other relevant laws.
He and other
stakeholders at the meeting called on the Police to address widespread concerns
over the excessive numbers and presence of police and other security agencies
in the southeast, which has led to militarization of the region, relative to
other regions, as well as the human rights violations associated with such
disproportionate numbers and huge presence.
Nwanguma
noted that in most cases, security agents on duty at checkpoints do not wear
their service uniforms and take deliberate steps to hide their identities to
evade being identified. He and others called on police authorities to make a
public pronouncement directing that security agents on checkpoints or other
overt operations must be properly dressed with their names and service numbers
made visible.
“This will
help to check and reduce impunity for human rights abuses and corrupt practices
by security agencies,” added Nwanguma.
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