- as US, UK delegations visit commission
Chairman, Police Service Commission, PSC, Dr. Solomon Arase has kicked against pre-trail detention of suspect, describing it as an abuse of human rights.
He said, "the Commission will no longer tolerate detentions of suspects beyond what the law provides for."
Arase, a retired Inspector General of Police stated this when he received in audience two delegations from the United States of America and the United Kingdom who were at the Commission's Corporate Headquarters, Abuja today on courtesy visits.
The PSC boss told the visitors that what Nigerians want is a responsible Police Force that would respect the human rights of the citizenry.
According to him, "the Commission decided to set up the Compliance Monitoring Unit to ensure that the rights of the citizens are protected and offending Police Officers sanctioned for misconduct."
He further disclosed that the leadership of the Commission and the Police are united in the fight to stamp out human rights abuses in the Country.
The PSC Chairman assured the delegate heads that there would be no conflict between the Commission and the Police Management on the operations of the Compliance Monitoring Unit.
He said, "the Commission wants to track complaints against Police stressing that any officer who has pending human rights cases will not be cleared for promotions or postings.
"Any officer who has human rights issues not conclusively investigated by the Police Complaints Unit will be stepped down from promotion and postings"
He finally for assistance in the provision of more systems for the CMU, adding that, " the Commission anticipates several complaints against the Police as the Unit takes shape."
Earlier in his remarks, the United States Delegation was led by Jason A. Smith, Director International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said they are in Nigeria to assist strengthen the rule of law and the Police operations
He noted that, "PSC is a key stakeholder in their project to strengthen the rule of law in Nigeria and promised to work with the Commission to achieve this."
In the same vein, Chris Grimson of the National Agency Anti- Kidnap and Extortion Unit (AKEU) who visited on behalf of the United Kingdom promised to partner with the Commission in the training of the personnel of the Nigeria Police.
He spoke on intelligence sharing, proper investigation so as to break down barriers between the Police and other security agencies in the country.
The delegations also visited the Commission's newly established Compliance Monitoring Unit (CMU), a tracking platform on public complaints against serving Nigeria Police Officers and promised to assist the Commission drastically reduce human rights abuses by the Police.
