It is not uncommon to witness a scene on the streets of Nigeria which involve rogue police officers assaulting innocent citizens on suspicion of him being a criminal. It is also common to see some law enforcement officials stopping and searching individuals in transit and then go on to extort money from the passengers forcefully; woe to you if there's none.

Victims of such assaults are usually stereotyped based on their dressing, hairstyle or general outlook. They are subjected to verbal and physical assaults by police officers, arrested and detained without informing the suspect of his crime or charges against him.

Incidences of fundamental rights breaches are rife in Nigeria, especially by rogue police officials. Complaints against the highhandedness, brutality, assaults and extortion by police officers are primarily ignored by relevant police authorities. No one holds these police units accountable. They perpetuate a reign of terror, which has created an air of distrust and fear for the police among Nigerian citizens.

On Saturday 26th December 2015, a drunken Police Sergeant Stephen James with Force No. 217884 attached to PMF 22 shot dead twin brothers: Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunde, the only children of their mother, and their friend Jeje outside the premises of Paulson Hotel in Ketu, Lagos where Jeje's birthday took place. The policeman later shot himself dead on realizing the enormity of his crime.

Many Nigerians have lost confidence in the police force due to the unprintable acts of some of its operatives. The police have crudely and horrendously negated the fundamental human rights of Nigerians. For your complaint to be written down, you have to pay money. For policemen to effect an arrest, the complainant must be ready to fuel the police vehicle. To release somebody on bail for a misdemeanour or a minor offence, the surety is asked to pay money. All these are extortions.

Several promises and attempts including the passage of a new Police Act, geared toward reform have yielded little or no fruit as the status quo of extortion and intimidation remains.

While different Presidential Aspirants have declared their intentions to run in the 2023 presidential election, there is yet to be an extensive discussion on the issues of police brutality, this lack of focus is at odds with the attention police brutality has received in the past recent years in Nigeria.

Suffice to note that this issue remains important to a considerable number of potential voters who are concerned about police accountability and hoping for presidential candidates who are police reform-oriented and willing to play significant roles in overseeing that the Nigeria police Force adopts new standards.

OUR DEMANDS

1.    Current Presidential Aspirants should take issues of police brutality as a major focal point of their campaigns.

2.    Special Units in the Nigeria Police force notorious for the atrocities above should be revamped and overhauled for optimum professionalism and service.

3.    An improved police public complaint and disciplinary system for erring officials must be put in place while a sustainable basis for enduring cooperation between police operatives and citizens should be established.

4.    A revamped and reformed policing system in Nigeria geared towards utmost professionalism and stellar public relations.

5.    A comprehensive improvement in the welfare of officials of the Nigerian Police. This includes better salaries, pensions, housing and vehicle loan opportunities, medical insurance etc.

About Citizens' Gavel

Citizens' Gavel is a civic tech NGO driven to increase the pace of justice delivery in Nigeria by integrating tech-for-justice tools, providing access to justice, and making data more understandable.

Website:www.gavel.ng

Twitter: citizen_gavel