FG has banned the police from parading crime suspects.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has prohibited the Nigeria Police Force from publicly parading criminal suspects.
A parade refers to the public presentation of individuals accused of committing a crime.
Senior police officials from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and the Lagos State Police Command have confirmed the implementation of this directive.
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One of them said, “I am aware of it. I think the directive was given by the AGF earlier this month or thereabouts and the information was passed down to us. You would have noticed some level of compliance. “
Another top police officer in Abuja said, “Yes, we have been asked to stop parading suspects.”
The Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, stated that the police would release an official statement regarding the ban at the appropriate time.
“The police will react officially on the matter when it is time. We will make an official statement soon,” Adejobi said.
Commenting on the issue, human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) described the practice of parading suspects as illegal.
“The practice of parading suspects is illegal as it constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental right of criminal suspects to the presumption of innocence guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,” he said.
“It is equally discriminatory as only lowly placed criminal suspects are exposed to media parade by the police and other law enforcement agencies.
“While poor suspects are paraded for allegedly stealing tubers of yam or telephone handsets valued at N10,000 or less, politically-exposed persons accused of looting the public treasury to the tune of N10 billion or more are never paraded before the media.”
Falana asserted that more than five court rulings have declared the parading of suspects illegal.
He said, “Even though the incriminating statements procured from criminal suspects during media parade are not admissible during trial in criminal courts, they are used by law enforcement agencies to compel members of the public to participate in mob justice.
“There are five judgments of the ECOWAS Court and Federal High Courts which have declared the parade of suspects illegal.
“I have sued all law enforcement and security agencies to justify the illegal parade of suspects.”
Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) criticized the practice as both unnecessary and unjust.
He highlighted the lasting harm it causes to the reputation of individuals who may eventually be proven innocent.
He said, “I want to say that this issue has persisted for many years, lingering unnecessarily.
“I want to implore the present Inspector General of Police to stop the practice of parading suspects. Because such suspects, at the end of the day, maybe found not guilty, but the damage done to their reputation remains permanent. Unfortunately, while people widely see and remember the parade, fewer pay attention when the courts eventually exonerate the accused.
“The Inspector General should direct all officers across the 36 state police commands to stop parading criminal suspects. There is no need for such displays—if the police have a solid case, they should take the suspect to court.
“It is different when a person is leaving the courtroom and the media captures images as part of their normal job. In such cases, the matter is already before the court and is sub judice. However, parading individuals before they are even tried, labelling them as criminals is unjust and should be discontinued.”
