Unlawful arrest of journalists, other Nigerians very disturbing – CISLAC

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, yesterday, said it was perturbed by the increased cases of unlawful arrest of journalists and other Nigerians, even as it commended effort to restructure Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

The group in a statement by its Executive Director, Mr. Auwal Musa, however, maintained that overhaul of Nigeria Police Force should be extended beyond SARS.

“It should cover the entire policing architecture, as human rights violations, corruption and poor discipline are widespread,” it added.

CISLAC noted that Amnesty International had in its 2017/2018 report, accused SARS of torture, ill-treatment and unlawful detention.

CISLAC, meanwhile, called for more transparency in the promotion of police officers, adding: “The unjustifiable promotion of officers, who work with politicians while ignoring those in the field, is unacceptable and against not only democratic norms but terms of engagement.

It said: “We have scenarios where individuals with valuable information are scared to speak out for fear of being intimidated. We are aware the Ministry of Finance had developed a whistle-blower policy, which is commendable. However, this policy is just suited for the recovery of stolen funds.

“We, therefore, call on the National Assembly  to fast track the passage of the whistle-blower legislation before it to ensure the protection of whistle-blowers.

“We also call on Nigerian institutions to emulate the Ministry of Finance by creating institutional whistle-blower policies that will suit their respective institutions and ensure victim’s protection.

“The culture of obedience and secrecy needs to be challenged and this can be done by having internal policies that will enable safe and legal way of bringing complaints outside the hierarchy.

“We would like to call for increase oversight on criminal justice institutions by the necessary organs lawfully mandated to carry out these oversight functions. This will ensure that checks and balances are created for institutions trying to enforce the law, lest they become law breakers instead of law enforcers in the process.

“We call for synergy among our institutions, especially the ones fighting crime and corruption. Scenarios where agencies are at arms with each other should not be abhorred by all well-meaning Nigerians.”

“We would like to call on the National Assembly to pass the following bills pending before it- the Amendment bill to the Police Act of 2004 and the Amendment bill to the NDLEA Act of 2004.”