NIGERIANS have been urged to disregard the allegations by the Intersociety Board Chairman Emeka Umeagbalasi claiming that “no fewer than 250 Nigerians die in Police custody on monthly basis”.
In a press release on Saturday in Abuja by the National Coordinator of United Young Professionals, Adewole Kehinde, he challenged the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) to show Nigerians facts and documents backing their purported figures.
“How on earth can a civil society like Intersociety say that since June 2015 till date, 5,000 arrested and detained citizens have died in Police custody across the country? Where is the documentary evidence of this bogus figure, Adewole asked.
It is on record that since IGP Ibrahim Idris assumed office as Inspector General of Police, his priority has been training and promotion of Police/Community Human Right Relationship. The allegations that ‘the deaths were largely on criminal execution or killing, torture, and other cruel inhuman and degrading punishment while in custody as well as prosecutorial vindictiveness whereby citizens are criminally labelled or slammed with bogus charges that are in no way near suspected offences they were caught committing’ is baseless and another tactics to blackmail the Nigeria Police.
He further said that Nigeria Police is among the best in the World when it comes to criminal investigation and prosecution management. He disagreed on the perception that ‘the spate of death in Police custody is due to absurd or stone age application of criminal justice administration in Nigeria’,
It is on record that the IGP trained the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) across the country immediately he assumed office and the training has been consistent, so we don’t know where Intersociety got her report that SARS is ‘responsible for most of the deaths in Police custody, Adewole reiterated.
