By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (TULAAC) has demanded urgent steps from President Muhammadu Buhari to strengthen police external accountability mechanisms, especially the Police Service Commission (PSC) in order to curb impunity for police human rights abuses.
The group says this will ensure larger police reform agenda.
RULAAC is of the opinion that” police in a democratic society should not be a law unto itself. It should uphold the rule of law, which embodies the values of human dignity rather than the wishes of the powerful leader or political party.
Effective external accountability processes may make the police more publicly accountable”.
Meanwhile, the group’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, has strongly condemned the suit filed by suspended DCP Abba Kyari against the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, seeking N500million for unlawfully detainiy him beyond constitutional limit without charging him to court.
Nwanguma said that Abba Kyari and his IRT team used to keep suspects in custody for several months.
“They do not even allow lawyers to see their clients who are in their custody. Sometimes,they interrogate lawyers who come to bail their clients, and scare them away with threats of arrest and detention. They often arrest lawyers and detain them for several days too, just for coming for the bail of their client.
“You see how life turns?There are several stories of how that Intelligence Response Team headed by Abba Kyari used to detain suspects for several monthsThere are also stories of those killed in their custody.
“There are stories of suspects who were forced and taken to POS kiosks where all their life’s savings were taken.There are stories of people who were shot and their properties taken. There are also stories of people who were told never to come back for their properties,” he said.
