By Kelvin
Adegbenga
I was surprised to read the Amnesty International
Report via https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/09/nigeria-special-police-squad-get-rich-torturing-detainees/ dated
21 September, 2016.
The report carried out by one, Damian Ugwu, Amnesty
International's Nigeria Researcher said that “A Nigerian police unit set
up to combat violent crime has instead been systematically torturing detainees
in its custody as a means of extracting confessions and lucrative bribes”.
It is on record that the revised
version of a bill to criminalize torture which was returned unsigned by the
former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 has been passed by the House of
Representatives in June 2016 and has been resubmitted to the Senate for further
debates by the Buhari administration.
The research by Amnesty International
that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) uses hanging, starvation, beatings,
shootings and mock executions as a means of “extracting confessions and lucrative
bribes", is baseless.
The Inspector General of Police, IGP
Ibrahim Idris has strengthen the Police X-Squad Units in all Police
Commands with the deployment of thoroughly vetted, selfless and patriotic
officers to tackle corruption and abuse of office within the Nigeria Police and
at the Federal, States and Local Government levels. The personnel deployed to
the Anti-Corruption Unit are supported with incentives to make them more
effective in the discharge of their duties.
So I wonder where Amnesty International
came about SARS officers who “regularly demand bribes, steal and extort money
from criminal suspects and their families”. I challenge the Amnesty
International to publish evidence(s) of such corrupt activities of the SARS
officers under this administration.
I am aware every detainee at the SARS
have access to Lawyers and Human Rights Defenders, so I doubt the so called
“ruthless human rights violations of victims”. If victims are arrested and
tortured until they either make a ‘confession’ or pay officers a bribe to be
released, then such victims must be guilty of the offence they are arrested
for.
I want to remind the Amnesty
International that the Nigeria Police has set up a Complaint Response Unit –
(CRU), under the able leadership of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abayomi
Shogunle where citizens make report of any violation of their Rights by the
Police in the country. As a follower of the twitter handle and the Facebook
page of the Complaint Response Unit, I can testify to the fact that every
report received is treated to logical conclusion.
I know Amnesty International may claim
that the Police did not give them access to information but like I said
earlier, the new Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris has
strengthening the Public Relations Department as well as the Complaint Response
Unit of the Force, no matter the enormity of complaint you tabled before the
FPRO and CRU, you must get a reasonable response.
The fact that the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS) gave the Amnesty International access to the detention centre in
Abuja where they found 130 detainees is enough evidence that the Nigeria Police
has nothing to hide from the General public including the Amnesty
International.
On the issue that SARS investigating
civil matters and in some cases tortures detainees involved in contractual,
business and even non-criminal disputes, I am challenging the Amnesty
International to show the World evidences because we all know that civil
matters are settled in the Law Court as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) has no business with “contractual, business and even non-criminal
disputes”.
If Amnesty International claimed that
detainees are not allowed access to a lawyer, a doctor or their family during
detention, how come they had access to the detainees in Abuja and even know the
numbers in the cell? I know the Nigeria Police have well trained medical
personal and clinics across the country and in some cases collaborate with
Medical centers to treat Police officers and those under their custodians.
To show how biased the Amnesty
International is; the researcher claimed that “when asked to explain why no
Police officers had been suspended or prosecuted for torture, the police
simply DENIED that any torture had taken place”. I am sure
the Police officer said nothing but the truth, so the issue of denial does not
arise here.
If erring officers are not
investigated, they can’t be transferred to other Stations, the Amnesty
International should know better on this rather than saying the Police officer
interviewed “did not say whether the claims against them were being
investigated”.
I am also challenging the Amnesty
International to come out with evidences that “many of these officers have
bribed their way to SARS in the first place. The police chiefs in charge are
themselves entwined in the corruption.” This is a grave indictment and the
Amnesty International must substantiate these allegations with concrete
evidence.
The Amnesty International also claimed
that SARS officers are found “stealing or confiscating property from
relatives of detained suspects”. My question is, “where do the SARS
officers get the original documents of the so called properties they steal or
confiscate?
The Amnesty International is just out
to tarnish the good image of the Police that has been going through positive
reform under the new Inspector General of Police.
From the report of occurrences the
Amnesty International gathered for her research, I am surprised that they never
bothered to ask the victims what was their own offences; did the victims make
any report to the Complaint Response Unit of the Nigeria Police; the National
Human Right Commission or the Human Rights Defenders?
For the record, the Amnesty
International should know that the Nigeria Police in December 2014 launched a
Human Rights Manual which proscribes torture and other ill-treatment of
detainees, the new Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris is already
reforming and reorganizing all the Units in the Force including the SARS. This
was part of the Inspector General of Police meeting held on Wednesday, 21
September, 2016 with the leadership of the 60 PMF Squadrons, 21 CTU Commanders
and 12 SPU Commanders in the country.
As far I am concerned, the latest
report by Amnesty International indicted the past administration of Goodluck
Jonathan and not the Buhari administration. Since the previous government
attempts at wiping out torture proved unsuccessful, the new Inspector General
of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris will surely ensure that officers responsible for
any Human Rights violations will be held responsible.
Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim
Idris as a refined officer will never allow Police officer to inflict torture
or other ill-treatment on detainees under any circumstances.
To set the record straight, I want the
Amnesty International to know that the UN Secretary General appointed IGP
Ibrahim Idris as a Police Commissioner in UNAMID, in Darfur. That was the 1st
time a Nigerian Police officer was clinching a B2 position for any UN mission
in the world.
However, the offer was declined by IGP
Ibrahim Idris to enable him contribute his quarter in ensuring Peace and
Stability during and after the 2015 General Elections.
Under the United Nations, IGP Ibrahim
Idris attended a seminar on re-organization and reforms of Formed Police Units
(FPU), at the Centre for excellence for Stability Police Forces (COESPU) in
Vicenza, Italy in 2004. He also attended the UN Senior Leadership Induction
Course and UN Leadership Course at the UN Headquarters in New York in February
and September 2009 respectively. He further attended Civil-Military
Coordination in Disaster Management Course organized by the United States
Military Pacific Command and United Nations in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2010.
He has severally served as visiting
lecturer on “Roles of Police on United Nations Peace Keeping Operations” in
Nigerian Defense College in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was a Mentor to African
Union/United Nations Senior Leadership Seminar in Douala, Cameroun 2010 and
African Union/ECOWAS Senior Leadership Course held in Nigerian Defense College
Abuja in 2012.
IGP Ibrahim Idris has received many
Commendations and Awards in the course of his career, including the Nigerian
Inspector General of Police Commendation Award for his performance as
Commandant PMF Training College, Gwoza in 2004, the Special Representative of
the Secretary General Commendation Award for Planning, Execution and
Coordination of Security for the Liberian National Elections in 2005, and the
Special Representative of the Secretary General’s Award for coordinating major
operations in Timor Leste in 2011.
He also bagged two Outstanding
Leadership Awards by two United Nations Missions, namely United Nations Mission
in Liberia (UNMIL) and United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT)
in 2006 and 2009 respectively for his outstanding performance as Operations
Coordinator in UNMIL and Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of Operations in
UNMIT respectively.
In March 2011, the President of
Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, Dr Jose Ramos Horta (Nobel Lauret) awarded
Ibrahim the Country’s highest National Medal, the “Medal of Merit”, for his
contribution to the security and stability of Timor Leste. He served for over
seven years in the United Nations.
With the above past achievements of the
IGP Ibrahim Idris, I can assure the Amnesty International that their next
research will be a commendation to the men of the Nigeria Police especially
the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Kelvin Adegbenga is a Freelance
Journalist based in Port Harcourt. kelvinadegbenga@yahoo.com Twitter:
@kelvinadegbenga
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