TORTURE AND EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLING IN NIGERIA

Answer

Nigeria is a West African country that was a British colony from 1885, but gained independence from Britain in 1960 through a popular independence movement. However, Nigeria as a new republic did not get to enjoy democratic rule for long as there was a military coup in 1966 where the army seized power from the elected government. Since that first military coup in January 1966, Nigeria has suffered a succession of military rulers as each democratic and undemocratic government has been halted by a coup[1]. The succession of military leaders and dictators has led to entrenched corruption within the government as top government leaders amass substantial wealth from appropriating government resources during their time in power. Military rule in Nigeria ended in 1999 and the country has been under democratic rule ever since (Coleman, 2015). However, the pace of reforms in government has been slow and the country is still fighting militant group Boko Haram, which has greatly destabilized the country. The years of entrenched corruption and dictatorial rule have created the current Nigerian Police force, which perpetrates torture as an entrenched interrogation method.
Why the human rights abuse.

The Nigerian Police Force is responsible for perpetrating incidences of human rights abuse by using torture as a primary method of investigation as well as perpetrating other crimes on suspects and members of the public. The NPF regularly commits acts of rape against commercial sex workers as well female suspects while carrying out patrols or even at police stations when interviewing suspects[2]. The use of torture as an interrogation technique is mainly perpetrated by the police because they lack better methods of investigating crimes, which forces them to rely on the barbaric methods of torture as an effective interrogation technique. Although these human rights abuses are executed by junior officers, the officers do not act on their own accord; the junior officers are usually under the direction of senior officers who cover up the crimes after they have been committed (Dada Ojo, 2014).

There are many factors that have been cited as the reason for the human rights abuse in the NPF, which include:

The inability of the PSC to police the NPF

According to Nigerian law, the Police Service Commission is supposed to investigate and prosecute cases where police officers have been accused of violating the human rights of detainees as well as members of the public. However, the PSC has been complacent in its role of policing the NPF, which has led to majority of the incidences of police brutality as well as torture and other human rights violations not being investigated[3]. Other factors that hinder the prosecution of police officers that violate human rights include the fact that the investigation of police misconduct is usually conducted by other police officers. Victims of police brutality are usually intimidated by police officers when they try to report such incidences, where they are threatened with physical harm if they do not drop such charges (All Africa, 2014). To counter this process, the PSC should establish investigative processes that do not involve the police, which allow victims of police brutality to report such incidences anonymously.

The inability of the National Human Rights Commission to police the NPF

The National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria has failed to perform its oversight role over the NPF by investigating incidences of abuse reported by victims of police brutality. The NHRC has failed in its roles as it does not have any real power over the police officers who routinely threaten and withhold information from its officers. The NHRC is usually denied access to police files and other materials that could provide evidence of police brutality on civilians and detainees. The lack of access and any real power to prosecute errant police officers has reduced the NHRC to a watchdog organization that has no real power to stop the police brutality, torture and execution of suspects at police stations[4]. Most of the incidences of torture and police brutality are conducted at police stations, while officers from the NHRC are usually denied access to the areas where detainees claim to have been tortured. 

Lack of autonomy of the NPF

The NPF is affected by constant political intervention from powerful individuals within the government who have tampered with the recruitment of officers and other internal disciplinary measures and have contributed greatly to the rampant corruption within the force. The political interference within the NPF has contributed significantly to the lack of discipline within the force as officers cannot be punished because they have political godfathers. The interference with the police recruitment exercises had led to the recruitment of unqualified personnel within the force, which has contributed significantly to the lack of professionalism among the officers (Agbiboa, 2015). To create an efficient police force, the political interference within the force should stop in order to ensure that errant police officers are punished and that the NPF remains professional.

Incidences of abuse
some of the incidences of abuse reported against the police include claims by detainees of being tortured in an interrogation room by police officers until they confessed to crimes they did not commit. Prostitutes on city streets have frequently reported incidences of rape by police officers on patrol, while most police officers engaging in the act refer to the rape as a fringe benefit of patrolling some streets. The inhuman acts perpetrated against detainees involve severe beatings while stripped naked by police officers, attacks using machetes and gun butts to force confessions out of suspects [5]. Female suspects in police custody have also reported numerous incidences of rape by police officers while in custody as well. Female suspects are also beaten and threatened that they would be hosted in the same rooms as male suspects if they do not comply with the demands made by officers. Favorable treatment is given to female suspects who fulfill the wishes of police officers without causing problems.

Chapter 2

Treaties ratified, preemptory norms, sources international law, customary international law,

Nigeria ratified the international covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR) in 1993 as well as the convention against torture in 2001 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in 2009. Nigeria is also a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which prohibits the use of torture or other degrading methods to coerce people in the custody of law enforcement agencies[6]. According to international law, torturing a person is a violation of that person’s human rights as enshrined in article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. The declaration was enacted in the aftermath of world war two when world leaders decided that the torture perpetrated by nations on both sides of the conflict were unacceptable and should not be allowed to happen again. After the passing of the declaration, many other treaties were created to enforce the declaration in order to prevent the spread and use of torture as a form of punishment or a method of interrogation across the globe. Articles 3 and 31 of the Geneva Conventions prohibit the infliction of torture and other degrading forms of treatment on persons as well as the use of torture to obtain information from suspects.

International humanitarian law

The underlying principle of international humanitarian law is to protect human life in all forms, which includes the rights of detainees, prisoners and civilians. This fundamental principle is what led to the Universal declaration of human rights by the UN General Assembly to protect the lives of civilians, detainees and combatants from being tortured or subjected to degrading treatment by other parties[7]. Treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the convention against torture have been ratified by majority of the countries in the world in order to protect human rights. Countries such as the United States have ratified the two treaties, yet the same countries have been constantly accused of perpetrating torture against detainees suspected of being terror suspects or enemy combatants. The US has been a subject of controversy given the numerous accusations of human rights abuses conducted against detainees at prisons such as Guantanamo Bay, where detainees can be held for years without trial. Countries such as China and the Russian Federation have also been accused of similar offences (Orole, Gadar and Hunter, 2014). Although most of these countries deny the allegations of human rights violations, their governments claim that torture enables them to get crucial intelligence from detainees and suspects. Therefore, the fight to end human rights violations is a global fight even in the developed world.

What the international law and human rights say

Reports by human rights organizations and other stakeholders claim that the practice of torture and human rights violations by law enforcement officers in Nigeria is still rampant and that the government should do more in order to stop the culture of torture in Nigeria. Human rights organizations highlight the lack of a proper accountability structures within the Nigerian police force as the main reason for the continued prevalence of torture within police departments. According to international law governments of countries that have signed treaties against torture and human rights violations should ensure that such treaties are implemented within the governance structures in the country[8]. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Nigerian government to ensure that the law enforcement agencies stop torturing detainees for confessions choosing instead to use the right methods to gather evidence on various crimes. Human rights groups in Nigeria attribute the widespread use of torture as an interrogation method to the fact that most law enforcement officers are not trained adequately in the science of interrogation and gathering evidence. Therefore it is advisable that the training process for police officers be revised to include extensive training on gathering evidence using legal methods.

Response to the violation

The federal government of Nigeria created the National Committee on Torture to manage the nationwide response to the prevention and elimination of torture among law enforcement officers in Nigeria. However, the committee is handicapped because it cannot receive direct testimony or accusations of torture from individuals as such actions are not stipulated within its mandate. The committees mandate entails visiting place where people are detained, which includes prisons and police stations among other detention centers. The committee is allowed to receive complaints of torture at the detention centers as well as to review how detainees are treated and to recommend measures that can be taken to prevent torture at detention centers. The committee is also required to propose a primary ant-torture document that can be used as the basis for further legislative action. However, despite all the measures taken by the Nigerian government to address the issue of torture by law enforcement officers, reports by the UN and other human rights organizations indicate that torture is still prevalent among police officers[9]. The most affected units are the criminal investigation departments, which use torture to coerce suspects into confessing, while the correctional facilities use torture to keep prisoners in line.

The appropriate response to the issue of the violation of human rights by Nigerian law enforcement personnel should be to arrest and charge the guilt officers who should then face the full force of the law. This means that the committee against torture should be given adequate powers to prosecute police officers who torture detainees and should have the full support of the government in getting justice for victims of torture (Obaro, 2014). It is evident that the public meetings conducted by the committee against torture are not enough to fight the entrenched culture of torture within the NPF and that the committee should be given full prosecutorial powers over the NPF[10]. Such measures would ensure that errant officers face the full force of the law in order to create change in the NPF.

[1] Coleman, D. Y., 2015. Nigeria: 2015 Country Review. Nigeria Country Review, 1-323.

[2] Dambazau, A., 2014. Nigeria and Her Security Challenges. Harvard International Review, 35(4), 65-70.

[3] Araromi, M. A., and Oke, A., 2013. Breach of Human Rights by Nigerian Police in the Performance of Its Functions: Need for a Reform [article]. US-China Law Review, (5), 466-493.

[4] Obaro, O. A., 2014. The Nigeria police force and the crisis of legitimacy: re-defining the structure and function of the Nigeria police. European Scientific Journal, 421-436.

[5] Onoja, E. O., 2013. The Relationship between the Constitutional Right to Silence and Confessions in Nigeria. African Journal Of Legal Studies, 6(2/3), 189-211.

[6] Human Rights Watch World Report(s) 2010 & 2011: World Chapter on Nigeria.

[7] UN General Assembly Resolution: National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights:A/RES/48/134.

[8] Amnesty International Report 2010: The State of the World’s Human Rights.

[9] Human Rights Watch: Criminal Politics: Violence, Godfathers and Corruption in Nigeria.

[10] Amnesty International Report 2010: The State of the World’s Human Rights.