By Emma Okereh
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Wednesday commenced a-two day capacity training workshop for members of the Nigerian Police on mainstreaming human rights issues in the course of enforcing laws in Nigeria.
The training which was anchored by the Human Rights Institute of the commission in collaboration with CLEEN Foundation, NOPRIN and the Nigerian Police Force as partners, becomes necessary due to the unfolding security challenges in the country as well as the important role of the Nigerian Police as encapsulated in the Police act.
One of the mandates of the NHRC is to organise local and international seminars, workshops and conferences on human Rights issues for public enlightenment.
The NHRC has observed over the years that there is a need to build the capacity of law enforcement agents on mainstreaming human rights in their operations as this will go a long way to stem the tide of human rights violations by law enforcement agents as well as improve on the human rights record of the country.
In his statement at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the executive secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu stated that ‘’The place of the Police in law enforcement needs not be overemphasized. Indeed, the Police act confers on the police the responsibility of protection of law and property, investigation and prevention of crime among others. Studies show that of all the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria, the police is the only one that has presence or structure in all the nooks and cranies of the country’’. He submitted that policing among civilian population throws up various human rights challenges necessitating human rights mainstreaming, hence, the need for this capacity building engagement.
He noted that in no area is the protection of human rights more crucial than in the areas of law enforcement and military operations. According to him ‘’ these carry with them elements of force which is often accompanied with is often accompanied with or degenerate into violations of human rights if powers are not exercised properly.
The executive secretary also disclosed that to ensure that the rights of humans are protected, international standards have therefore been set for the protection of human rights in these areas. He observed that these standards safeguard against tyranny, oppression and impunity and constitute checks on those who exercise such powers.
He stated that the overall goal of the workshop was to improve the capacity of the Nigerian Police to mainstream human rights into law enforcement, improve knowledge about human right, discuss human rights issues in arrest, detention, bail, use of force, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment holding charge, assemblies and rallies and death in custody .
Others, according to the executive secretary, includes to reinforce the essence of human rights in police or other law enforcement operations and need to comply with human rights standards during such operations, improve relationship between National Human Rights Commission and the Nigerian Police Force and to reduce human rights violations in policing.
He charged the participants to apply knowledge and skills gained in the course of operations as well as step down the training to their colleagues that were not at the workshop for multiplier effect.
