EXCLUSIVE: Video Exposes Nigerian Policemen Assaulting, Torturing Suspects In Lagos Command’s Detention In Violation Of Law

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September 20, 2022
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A video showing the two men grappling the rifle of a police officer had gone viral during the weekend.
 

Men of the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Police Command, have tortured and humiliated two men arrested for dragging a rifle with a policeman during a heated argument.
A video showing the two men grappling the rifle of a police officer had gone viral during the weekend.

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The Spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had while reacting to the video in a tweet said that if a policeman should slap a “civilian”, the person had no right to retaliate.
But the tweet did not go down well with Twitter users as they accused him of not respecting the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people.
Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also called on Adejobi to withdraw his statement.
Falana said according to the Nigerian constitution, every citizen is entitled to the right to the dignity of their person, adding that law enforcement personnel are prohibited from ill-treatment of citizens.
However, Adejobi in a statement on Monday said his tweet was “misquoted.” He added that the security agency does not condone indiscipline and violation of citizens’ rights by its officers.
A video of the two men in detention obtained by SaharaReporters showed that they had been physically beaten and tortured.
A family member of one of the suspects said he saw bruises all over their bodies, adding that they were thoroughly beaten inside the cell by police officers.
One of the policemen was also heard in the video asking his colleagues to stop beating the two men.

Nigeria is obligated under international and regional human rights law to ensure the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.
Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria also provides that “every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person.”
It also provides that no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment.
On 29th December 2017, the “Anti-Torture Act” was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The law makes comprehensive provisions for penalising the acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and prescribes penalties for the commission of such acts.
Under that law, a police officer who tortures anybody shall be prosecuted and the penalty is 25 years in prison.
Part of the acts read; Section 1 of the Act titled ‘Duty of Government’ imposes an obligation on government to ensure that all persons, including suspects, detainees and prisoners are respected at all times and that no person under investigation or held in custody is subjected to any form of physical/mental torture.
It admonishes government to adhere to domestic and international standards on absolute condemnation and prohibition of torture.
Section 2 titled ‘Acts of Torture’ defines what amounts to torture. It states that; “torture is deemed committed when an act by which pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person to – (a) obtain information or confession from him or a third person; (b) punish him for an act he or a third person has committed or suspected of having committed; or (c) intimidate or coerce him or third person for any reason based on discrimination of any kind’.
“Section 3 titled ‘No justification for torture’ is the stand out provision of the Act. It states that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for torture.
“It prohibits secret detention facilities, solitary confinement, incommunicado detentions where torture may be carried out. It makes it very clear that evidence obtained from torture is inadmissible in any court except for use against a person accused of torture.”

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