The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent a request to the Head of United Nations Human Rights Council, Ms. Navi Pillay, urging her to speak out against the degrading conditions of police trainees across police colleges in Nigeria.
The session of the annual Human Rights Council is scheduled to hold February 25. to March 22, 2013.
In the petition signed by Solicitor to SERAP, Femi Falana, SAN, the body told the High Commissioner to publicly speak out against the violations of the rights of police trainees , affirming that by holding a public session on the treatment of police trainees in police colleges across Nigeria, pressure would be mounted on the government, and it will urgently take concrete, meaningful and transparent action to improve the conditions and treatment of the trainees. The statement said that further action will improve the ability of law enforcement agencies .
The statement affirmed that “This is a crucial law enforcement issue to which your office is fully committed to addressing globally including in Nigeria. Unless the Nigerian government is held responsible for its failure to respect the right to human security and dignity of police trainees across police colleges in Nigeria, the government will not be able to meet up with its international legal obligations of maintaining law and order, and ensuring the safety and security of its citizens.”
“By failing to spend allocated budgets meant to establish infrastructure and improve the conditions of police colleges in the country, the government has breached its international human rights obligations and commitments including under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”
“It is impossible to produce capable, decent, efficient, knowledgeable and human rights friendly police personnel in such dehumanising and degrading conditions. In fact, police recruits trained under such inhuman conditions have always unleashed violence on innocent members of the public,” the organization said.
It charged Ms Pillay thus:
1. Publicly condemn in your statement to the session of the UN Human Rights Council scheduled to hold between February 25 2013 to March 22 2013 reports of dehumanizing and degrading treatment of police trainees across police colleges in Nigeria
2. Ask the Nigerian Government delegation attending the session of the Human Rights Council to explain how the budget meant to establish infrastructure and improve the conditions of police trainees in police colleges has been spent, and what the government is doing to urgently address this serious human rights violation
3. Call or facilitate public session of the Human Rights Council and civil society to discuss the problems with a view to putting pressure on the Nigerian government to address it.
4. Urge the Nigerian government to invite the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation to visit Nigeria to thoroughly investigate the violations of human rights committed against police trainees across police colleges in Nigeria, and to make recommendations to the government on what to do to address the problem
It added that, “The poor, dehumanising, and deteriorating state of the Police College Ikeja and other police colleges across the country seem to explain why the force has been unable for many years to provide adequate security for the common man and to effectively tackle crimes. The inhuman and degrading treatment of police trainees as shown by the Channels documentary also illustrates the deep rooted corruption in critical institutions of government and public services that have been completely neglected for several years”
“Recent investigation and documentary by the highly respected Channels TV showed among others that training facilities are in terribly bad shape; that the college is overcrowded (housing 3000 people instead of 750); that student hostels are in dilapidated conditions and lack beds, mattresses and decent and functioning toilets. It showed the college’s male and female dormitories, some of them built before independence in 1960, in state of disrepair. The trainees are clearly in some discomfort, because the footage showed bug-infested sleeping quarters and blood-stained beddings,” the organization also said.
Nigeria is a member of the Human Rights Council, and has ratified several UN human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
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