By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, on Wednesday, asked the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, to forthwith, stop the parading of suspects in custody, describing the action as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The rights body stressed that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, presumed every accused persons to be innocent.
It maintained that the practice of parading suspects before their trial or conviction, amount to a gross violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, spoke at an Inter-Agency Consultative Workshop on the implementation of the National Action Plan for the promotion and protection of human rights, which held in Abuja on Wednesday.
“We have been unwavering in our call for an end to the parade of suspects. We have also resolved to commence a nationwide campaign against it,” Ojukwu, SAN, stated.
He noted that the Federal Executive Council, FEC, had in April 2023, approved the Nigerian National Action Plan for the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.
“The NAP is not just a document; it is a strategic roadmap for integrating human rights into governance, policy-making, and institutional frameworks.
“The NAP serves as a strategic framework to audit, improve, and monitor human rights through collaboration among government, civil society, and other national and international stakeholders.
“The development of the NAP involved extensive consultations with MDAs and the civil society, led by the NHRC. Its focus is to address gaps, promote, protect and enforce human rights in compliance with national and global human rights standards.
“The essence of today’s workshop is to activate the implementation framework of the NAP by bringing together key stakeholders across government agencies, civil society, and development partners.
“We recognize that effective implementation requires a coordinated, multi-sectoral, and inter-agency approach to ensure that the principles enshrined in the NAP translate into concrete actions that impact the lives of all Nigerians,” the NHRC boss added.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, Mr. Solomon Arase, reiterated the commission’s stance against human rights violations, particularly the public display of suspects.
“Parading suspects is against the law. We must campaign against this,” Arase, who is a former Inspector General of Police, added.
While commending the NHRC for its decision to kickstart the campaign against illegal parading of suspects, the Executive Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, PLAC, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, also called for an end to the use of torture by security agencies to extract confessional statement from accused persons.
“Indeed, there is a lot to do. With the support of National Assembly’s Committee on Human Rights, we believe that the scope of human rights in this country would be expanded,” Nwankwo stated.
In her goodwill message, the Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission, Gill Lever, described human right as the corner stone in any just and fair society.
“How we protect and promote human rights is important,” she added, saying there was need for citizens to always hold their elected leaders accountable at all times.
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