KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — A Non Governmental Organisation, Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, also known as Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN) has warned police officers against the continued use of arrest in lieu, insisting the practice is illegal under the Nigeria Police act, 2020.
PWAN’s Acting Program Manager, Aisha Isa kicked against the practice during a sensitization program it organized for media actors in Kano State with support from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Isa said the new Nigeria Police Act of 2020 prohibits the practice while also mandating the police to present warrant before any arrest or within 24 hours and also timely arraignment or release.
According to her, “the new act prohibits arrest in lieu. You (police) can no longer go to arrest a husband and arrest his wife instead, claiming that he will come out if he heard that his wife has been arrested.
“It is no longer normal for police to arrest someone or delve into civil and contractual cases. It is not the new normal to refuse women bail. A woman can be given bail insofar as she’s satisfied all the legal requirements. So there are new innovations, new Acts that scrape what we have in the former colonial era Acts.
“There are so many innovations in this Police Act of 2020 that are aimed at addressing human rights issues, respecting the dignity of suspects and other human beings, protecting the lives of people, community and properties of the Nigerians.
“The current Nigeria police Act, 2020 was passed into law by the senate on the 22nd of July 2020 and assented by the President Muhammadu Buhari on September 16, 2020. The Act is the first-ever comprehensive revision of the Police Act since its original enactment in 1943.
“The Acts seeks to provide for an effective and efficient Nigerian Police Service that complies with the principles of accountability and transparency and protects Nigerians’ human rights and fundamental freedoms,” she said.
The Acting Program Manager, however, said the media sensitization was designed to equip media practitioners with the knowledge, skills, and tools to report accurately, ethically, and impactfully on police reform, accountability issues, and gender-responsive policing.
Similarly, a resource person, Odoh Okenyodo, urged the journalists to adopt developmental and solutions journalism in reporting policing challenges.
Okenyodo said while investigative journalism remained vital, highlighting reforms and workable solutions would help address systemic challenges in the policing system.
“We are not saying journalists should stop investigative reporting. Rather, we are encouraging the use of solutions journalism as an additional tool to address complex policing challenges,” Okenyodo said.
Earlier, a media veteran, Aro Leonard, said the sensitization programme was to arm the media with knowledge about the reform as the media possessed significant power to shape public discourse and hold institutions accountable through factual and balanced reporting.
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