Police’ve zero-tolerance for rights violation – IGP

Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, has said the Nigeria Police have no place for officers and men found to be violating the rights of citizens in the name of discharging their responsibility.
Speaking at a one day human rights training programme organised by the Nigeria Police Force in conjunction with the Prisons Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), a nongovernmental organisation in Kano yesterday, Idris stated that no police officer would be allowed to violate the rights of any citizen under whatever guise.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force is a professional and disciplined security outfit which always sensitises its personnel onthe repercussions of violating human rights in the course of criminalinvestigation.
He added that going by the reports so far received, the number of ligations received, as regards the issue of rights violation had drastically reduced.
Idris, who was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Training and Development, Mr. Emmanuel Inyang, however stated that the human rights training workshop was aimed at providing the necessary platform to reach out to men and officers on the need for the promotion and protection of human rights.
He said the training was also conceived to offer them the opportunity to equipp them with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitude to effectively discharge their duties in accordance with the rule of law and in compliance with international best practices.
The IGP stressed that the fundamental duties of a police officer include; serving the community, safeguarding lives and property, protecting the innocent, keeping the peace and ensuring that the rights to liberty, equality and justice is respected.
In her remarks, the Executive Director, PRAWA, Dr.
Uju Agomoh, said the objective of the training was to mainstream and integrate the issue of human rights violation into the workings of the Nigeria Police Force, for sanity to be restored in the manner human rights issues were handled by the police all over the country