Yemisi Izuora
Civil Society Organisations across Nigeria, have noted with satisfaction the efforts by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to ensure the observance of social distancing at police stations in Nigeria as part of measures to check the spread of COVID-19 at the police stations.
They noted in particular, the IGP’s directives to State and Zonal commands to avoid unnecessary arrests and detention of persons in police cells except for serious (capital) offences.
However, the CSO’s noted with serious concern, that in some states, people are still held in police cells, some for bailable offences such as misdemeanors. And for suspects held for serious offences such as capital offences, Police are not able to charge them to courts because the courts are currently shut down.
A statement by the group and released by
Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), the group observed that most states have no functional testing laboratories and isolation centres, and detainees in urgent need of medical attention in those states can’t access healthcare.
These ones are made vulnerable to more dangers than just the likely exposure to the deadly virus.
“We call on the Inspector-General of Police to order state commissioners and Divisional Police officers to ensure urgent decongestion of cells by ensuring immediate release of persons still held in custody for minor offences.
“We also call on the IGP to put in place mechanisms for effective monitoring of compliance with his directives against indiscriminate arrests and detentions and ensure consequences for non-compliance. If officers continue to make indiscriminate arrests after decongestion, the detention facilities will be congested again.
“We call on Chief Magistrates in states, in fulfilment of their obligations under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, and in compliance with the 2019 Practice Direction of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on visits to police custody facilities to embark on inspection visits to police stations within their jurisdictions with a view to ensuring the immediate release of detainees based on established criteria, to decongest the cells and prevent likely infection and spread of Covid-19. We also recognise the need for Magistrates to be provided with protection kits to visit these places of detention.” the statement added.