Coronavirus lockdown, unacceptable impunity by security personnel

Coronavirus lockdown, unacceptable impunity by security personnel

Vanguard News / Temisan Amoye / 50 minutes ago

Police dragging a man along the road (stock photo).

By Prof Joy Ezeilo,

As the novel COVID-19 pandemic ravages the world including Nigeria, one of the African Countries later affected and afflicted, there have been varied responses and the most widespread is lockdowns.

There is no gainsaying that it has brought untold hardship to Nigerians, especially persons and families that depend on the daily income for their livelihood and survival.

Therefore, it is a most hostile development that at a time of disruptive and fast-evolving pandemic causing tremendous anxiety on citizens is when security personnel would choose to continue on their well-established paths of impunity resulting in huge loss of lives that are in some cases greater than the number of deaths from Coronavirus disease.

There have been reported cases of extrajudicial killings, extortion, maiming, unlawful arrest, torture, and incessant intimidation of Nigerian citizens by men of the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Correctional Service, COVID-19 Task Force and men of vigilante services.

This unprecedented evil unleashed on citizens is vastly published in various media, including newspapers, radio and on social media.

Nigerians, including civil society organizations, have expressed concerns about this growing trend of impunity committed by the security forces for which the media, in particular, the social media is awash with daily. It has brought the perennial problem of policing without respect to rule of law and human rights standards in focus once more.

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Shocking revelation

It was a shocking revelation to read the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) barely two weeks into the lockdowns stating that 18 persons have been killed by security agencies extra-judicially in the guise of enforcing the lockdown order. This whopping figure is double the figure killed by the pandemic for which Nigerian citizens are being protected as at the time of the report on 14th April 2020.

In the document released, out of this number, 12 deaths were recorded in Kaduna State. Abia State also recorded 2 deaths arising from 2 incidents while Delta, Niger, Ebonyi and Katsina States recorded 1 death each, in comparison to the death of about 11 patients recorded as of 14th day of April 2020, in Nigeria.

The report further shows that out of the 18 deaths, the Nigeria Correctional Service was responsible for 8 deaths while the Nigeria Police Force was responsible for 7 deaths. The Nigeria Army, on the other hand, was responsible for 2 deaths while the Ebonyi State Task Force on Covid-19, Afikpo South LGA was responsible for 1 death.

Since the release of this report by the NHRC, the incidences of death from extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations have shot up across the county and it is not abating. For example, Abia State death toll at the hands of security personnel has doubled from two to four and Anambra State has also witnessed police extrajudicial killings which happened on 15 days of April and reported by Premium Times. Of particular mention is the killing of a middle-aged man identified as Friday Arumsi at EbemOhafia in Ohafia L.G.A. of Abia state on Saturday 18th April 2020 by a trigger-happy officer.

The incident was reported by Daily Post on the same day. Of note is that this came barely 24 hours after a policeman on duty from one of the neighbouring states killed a resident of Aba at Uratta axis of the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway, also in Abia State. It is impunity unhinged.

The story of Modupe Ajama, a nurse in Ondo state that was assaulted by policemen enforcing COVID-19 curfew while she was on her way to work at a hospital to attend to an emergency case went viral and attracted huge condemnation that led to apparent arrests of the officers for sanctioning.

Nigerians must as a matter of urgency raise the accountability stake and follow through with these cases otherwise one would not be surprised to find a few years later that they have been absolved and reinstated. This is precisely what causes the culture of impunity and the difficulty in stemming this hydra-headed problem.

Pointless to mention the culpability of law enforcement officers very keen on protecting their erring colleagues- esprit de corps is the dominant ideology and the camaraderie mentality reigns supreme in these forces.

The situation of wanton brutalization and torture of citizens must be arrested forthwith to demonstrate that such impunity is unacceptable, absurd, reprehensible, anachronistic and amounts to a heinous crime against humanity. As it were, there is rising tension between security agents and the citizens, which if not controlled could result in civil unrest.

To kill any person by extra-judicial means goes against the core values and applicable laws in a constitutional democracy such as we practice in Nigeria. Right to life is guaranteed and can only be taken in a constitutionally prescribed circumstance after formal verdict by the Court.

Before now our security forces, especially the Police Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) have acquired a bad reputation internationally for brutality, harassment, extortion and all types of corrupt acts and breaches of rule of law. These have been severally reported by the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other media.

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Unfortunately, Investigations into allegations of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, unlawful detentions and use of excessive force are sometimes not thoroughly conducted, and where done, outcomes of such investigations were not made public and hardly has anyone been held accountable.

Inhuman and degrading treatment

Nigeria is a State Party to international and regional instruments that protect the right to life and prohibit torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.

These developments are in direct contravention of all known international and regional human rights instruments, especially treaties signed and duly ratified by the Government of Nigeria such as the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CPPR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment stipulates that each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.

Article 2 provides that “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.” Further, an order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.

By ratifying these human rights treaties, Nigeria undertook the obligation of implementing the same through its national legislation and to take adequate measures to protect, respect and remedy violations of human rights. The non-compliance with the extant laws, including the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended), underscores the level of understanding of the rule of law and procedure of engagements by the security agencies and their capacity to engage the citizens, especially in circumstances where the law needed to be enforced.

Interesting, in the last five years, Nigeria has adopted the following laws to give effect to its international human rights treaties obligations: The Anti-Torture Act (2017); The Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Wounds Act (2017); Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act (2015); Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 (ACJA); and the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act (2015).

The ACJA (2015) provides for the registration of arrested persons and immediate information to their families upon arrest but these provisions are yet to be implemented. Thousands remain in detention without contact with their families.

It is the constitutional duty of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and order and be accountable to the public and importantly promptly and effectively respond to reports of human rights violations, in particular, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases by ensuring proper investigation, arrest and prosecution in order to protect vulnerable victims and their families.

Clearly, allegations are mounting every day and continue to be made of extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances and excessive use of force by security agencies. It is therefore recommended as follows:

A thorough investigation should be carried out and perpetrators brought to book to serve as a deterrent to other officers. Families of the victims of human rights abuses should be adequately compensated, especially in the case of those who lost their lives as a result.

-The leadership of all the security agencies in Nigeria should immediately initiate and scale up training and awareness campaign on human rights standards, including on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) for their personnel/officers at all levels to improve their knowledge about citizens’ rights and engagements with the public.

-Independent whistleblowers mechanisms and hotlines should be instituted to encourage anonymous reporting of officers or members of these forces to report any other officer(s) or member(s) of the forces who promote, facilitate, condone, tolerate, encourage, or abet the perpetration of extrajudicial executions, torture and other acts of impunity against the citizenry.

Solutions

Professionalization of security forces and dealing with entrenched corruption and drug abuse that fuels some of the poor judgments and dastardly acts perpetrated on the civilian population.

Capacity building on international human rights standards is imperative and, in that regard, I posit that an integrated training curriculum specifically designed for the members of the security forces and personnel should be developed by the National Human Rights Commission and other actors and mainstreamed in various agencies as part of their respective academy work and continuing professional development courses.

 

As we deal with COVID-19, now is the time to end brutality, terror and extra-judicial killings by law enforcement agents that have a mandate for the protection of lives and property. It should be zero tolerance for any security personnel found wanting. Obviously, the leadership of security forces, especially the Inspector General of Police has demonstrated leadership in curbing Police excesses.

Others should follow while the citizens, including the Civil Society Organizations, should not stop in their demands and efforts to ensure full accountability and state responsibility in ending violence unleashed on innocent citizens by security agents.

Vanguard

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