Stop Disputing Amnesty International's Report - HURIWA Tells Police

Convinced that the report just issued by the United Kingdom-based non-governmental group-Amnesty international on the widespread use of torture by the Nigeria police was evidently and empirically correct, the pro-democracy non-governmental organization-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has challenged the Inspector General of Police Mr. Suleiman Abba to carry out comprehensive internal clean up exercise to name, shame and prosecute indicted operatives and officers rather than inundate Nigerians with empty rhetorics.

Besides, HURIWA said for the fact that the process by which the international non-governmental organization-Amnesty international obtained their findings was credible and met international best practices, the hierarchy of the nation's police should stop denying the obvious but take effective verifiable and pragmatic measures to dismantle the various torture chambers that exists in all police formations nationwide.

The Rights group charged the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria to rise to the occasion and exercise their operational independence by investigating these groundswell of considerable cases of proven charges of police use of torture and extra-legal killings associated with the Nigerian Police Force.

HURIWA said it was because torture was widespread among police operatives alongside other law enforcement agencies that the Federal government had over two years now constituted a national committee against torture headed by a reputable Abuja-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria Chief Sunday Ameh.

“How come that the leadership of the Nigerian police are exhibiting primitive and unbelievably shameful ignorance of the widespread use of torture in Nigeria by their ranks and file?"

"How come that the Federal government set up the presidential task force against torture? Was the anti-torture committee constituted by government to organize tea parties or what?”

In a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and co-signed by the National media Affairs Director Ms. Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA also carpeted the Police Service Commission (PSC) for failing to enforce disciplinary measures against indicted police operatives even as it advocated the setting up of an independent body of experts under the purview of the National Assembly to be charged with conducting investigations on the use to which fire arms are put by law enforcement officers as is the case in Britain whereby any case of use of weapon by the police are thoroughly investigated and findings made public".

“This independent ombudsman is necessary in Nigeria to check the proliferation of wrong and criminal use of firearms".

HURIWA has also backed the call by Amnesty international that torture be banned because in their words chapter four of the 1999 Constitution absolutely prohibits the use of torture.

The group therefore expressed shock that the National Assembly has been waiting for foreigners to tell us to legislate against torture.

Specifically, the UK-based body had in a report titled “Welcome to Hell-Torture and other ill-treatment in Nigeria”, alleged the widespread use of torture by Nigerian Police Force based on credible evidence given to them by Nigerian victims of police torture in the last one decade.

But the police through the Spokesperson Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu disputed the Amnesty International 10-year report on torture.