By Abdulwahab Abdulah, Dotun Ibiwoye, Nnamdi Ojiego and Ijeoma Anyaibe
A non governmental organisation, Access to Justice, AJ, has accused the government of Nigeria of not paying enough attention to the numerous human rights abuses by the Nigerian Police and other security agencies.

It has also slammed N2billion suit on the Inspector General of Police and the 36 state Police Commissioners over alleged poor detention condition and maltreatment of suspects by the police.

The group said citizens’ rights have become a nearly forgotten issue by the present administration.
Speaking on a public interest litigations it filed in Lagos, the Executive Director of Access to Justice, Mr Joseph Otteh said there were no indications that President Jonathan was ready to fight human rights abuses in the country by bringing to book, those who have violated and abused the rights of the helpless Nigerians.

Citing the case of alleged brutal massacre of civilians in Ayorkoromar community of Delta State by the Joint Military Taskforce, JTF, Mr Otteh said instead of the President, asking for a thorough investigation into the killings, he only ordered the military to rebuild the damaged buildings belonging to the villagers.

“The President ought to have ordered for proper investigation into the alleged murder to determine whether the JTF acted beyond its powers, not just to order for the rebuilding of destroyed buildings. Government has not done enough to protect the rights of its citizens”, he opined.

According to him, the present government has not raised its voice to condemn and punish those behind the killings of innocent Nigerians by the police and other uniformed men. “ This is no way to run a democracy”, urging the government to use the results of corona’s inquest to hold some people accountable for the atrocities committed against humanity.

Meanwhile, the group has filed two separate court actions at the Federal High Court against the Inspector General of police and the 36 police commissioners manning the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, over what it described as the use of blistering cell conditions and the practice of stripping male detainees by police interrogators. Joined in the case was the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Mohammed Adoke.

AJ was praying the court to grant an order directing the police to pay N2 billion as compensation for the victims of police torture and human rights abuses in Lagos state in the last ten years.

The public interest case, according to the organisation, was aimed at addressing the impunity of the Nigerian police in their  enforcement of the law, by violating human rights of Nigerians.

Part of the reliefs sought before the court were that the court should grant the sum of N1 billion as damages for the children, spouses and relatives of all persons who have died in police detentions in Lagos State within the last ten years. Also, they want the court to determine whether the torture and inhuman treatments arising from corporal violence during police interrogation, or from the intolerable cell conditions amount to human rights violations.

The group was also asking for an order granting N1 billion as damages to victims who have suffered the violation of their rights as a result of the practice of stripping male detainees.

They were also praying the court to declare that infrastructural conditions of several police formations in the state, including the police headquarters, Ikeja “are deplorable, inhuman, and degrading, constituting torture contrary to Section 34 (1)(a) of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.”