Aruga Joe Omokaro – Abuja

Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC) DIG Hashimu Argungu Rtd has decried cruelty and inhuman treatment of suspects in police cells.

He cautioned that, suspects should not be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading.

He gave the caution in a training programme on international Human Rights-based policing and effective oversight of personnel of the Police Service Commission (PSC) has commenced at the Parry Osayande Auditorium of the Commission in Abuja today. The programme is organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Speaking at the opening ceremony on “The Role of Police Service Commission in Oversight and Monitoring of the Nigeria Police Force Officials as Individuals and the Service as a Whole: Accountability and Transparency on the condition of stop, search, arrest, Police Custody and Pre-trial detention in Nigeria” the Chairman of the PSC, retired DIG Hashimu Argungu x-rayed human treatment of arrested suspects. He declared that a suspect shall “be accorded human treatment, having regard to his right to the dignity of his person and not be subjected to any form of torture, cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment.

DIG Argungu noted that a suspect shall not be arrested merely on a civil wrong or breach of contract and shall be brought before the court as prescribed by law or otherwise released conditionally or unconditionally.
He explained that a person shall not for any reason be arrested in place of a suspect, adding that the law prohibits the handcuffing or any other unnecessary restrain of an arrested person, except ” there is reasonable apprehension of violence or an attempt to escape; the restrain is considered necessary for the safety of the suspect or defendant or by order of court”.

The PSC Chairman stressed that, all over the world, Police Officers generally have broad powers to carry out their functions and duties.

He, however, noted that the Constitution as amended and other procedural laws, however, place limits on how far Police can go in trying to enforce the law.

According to him, one of the primary purposes of these laws is to protect citizens from abuses by the government, including police misconduct.

The Chairman also received three delegations, one from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust; the Nigeria Youth Organisation led by Comrade Okorie C. Okorie and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria led by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko.

The spokesman of PSC Ikechukwu Ani confirmed the story.

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