TAIWO FAROTIMI
The National Human Rights Commission , NHRC will soon begin an audit of detention facilities in all police commands and formations in the country. This follows the approval by Mr. Ibrahim Idris, the inspector general of police, IGP of a proposal by the Commission to this effect.
This was made known in Abuja on Wednesday by Abayomi Shogunle, assistant commissioner of police who is the head of Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit set up by the office of the IG in 2015.
The audit exercise will afford the NHRC the opportunity to investigate claims of torture , abuse of suspects in detention and indiscriminate arrest of citizens by men and women of the Nigeria Police. The audit also covers the special anti-robbery squad, SARS , which has come under intense criticism of late.
There have been complaints of excessive use of force to undertake arrest of suspects, brutalisation of people in detention and sometimes extortion of those arrested.
Recently there was an outcry on the breach of human rights and the rule of law. But Shogunle said the audit exercise will enable the Commission to assess the human rights situation of detainees as well as the condition of the facilities.
The Commission is a product of the National Human Rights Commission Act of 1995 as amended. Its mandate involves the promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights in Nigeria.
