Police brutality frightening, worrisome – CJN

Alleged excesses of the police will henceforth come under close scrutiny, with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, directing Chief Magistrates across the country to periodically inspect police stations and other detention centres.
The measure, Justice Onnoghen said, was to curb the growing level of citizens’ maltreatment by police and other security agencies.
The order came as the CJN described as worrisome and frightening the spate of police brutality and inordinate arrest of innocent citizens.
The directive was contained in a statement by Justice Onnoghen, through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Awassam Bassey in Abuja.
The order is in line with the ‘Practice Direction on the Role of Magistrates in Curbing Police Brutality’ issued on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
It followed what the CJN described as the “frightening proportions of horrific incidents of police brutality, inordinate arrest, detention and extortion of innocent Nigerians by officers across the country in recent time.”
The directive is to be conveyed to the Chief Magistrates through their respective Chief Judges in the 36 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
An excerpt of the practice direction quoted in Bassey’s statement yesterday, read: “The Chief Judge of every state of the nation, including the Federal Capital Territory, shall direct Chief Magistrates, and, where there is no Chief Magistrate within the Police Division, designate any Magistrate for that purpose, to, at least, every month, conduct an inspection of police stations or other places of detention within his territorial jurisdiction other than prison.
“The Chief Judge of every state of the nation, including the Federal Capital Territory, shall put in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure compliance with the above provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.”
The practice direction also quoted the CJN as saying that he had received “several complaints of the horrific incidents of police brutality, inordinate arrest, detention and extortion of innocent Nigerians by officers across the country.”

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