The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila has assured that the 9th House would ensure a policing system that works for all citizens in view of the recent EndSARS protests.
Gbajabiamila said to achieve the above, the House would carry out a wholesale reform of the Nigeria Police from recruitment to training and welfare of officers and men of the police.
Addressing stakeholders at the 9th House Legislative Agenda Public Policy Dialogue Series with the theme ‘Policing and Human Rights in Nigeria,’ the Speaker called on all well-meaning Nigerians to make their inputs toward the enactment of the Police Service Commission (Reform) Bill, 2020
Gbajabiamila added that “Effective policing is only possible when the policing institutions are grounded in the rule of law, when they are accountable and when the justice system in its entirety is fair to all who have cause to appear before it. We cannot have an effective policing system when the citizens do not have faith that the Police will treat them fairly every time, no matter the circumstance.
In a remark, the Chairman of the House Committee on Implementation and Monitoring of the Legislative Agenda, Rep. Henry Nwawuba, said the 9th House has committed itself to seeking collective and holistic ways to find lasting solutions to our national needs.
Noting that his committee was set up to ensure that the House meets its agenda and live up to its best aspirations and objectives, Nwawuba said the dialogue was an innovative step in the Bill process to get stakeholders’ buy-in even before the presentation of the Bill on the floor of the House.
Also, the Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs, Rep. Usman Bello Kumo, said his committee would provide an enabling environment for people to cross-fertilize ideas when the Bill gets to them.
In a goodwill message, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Yahya, said the PSC Bill is timely, noting that policing problem is not peculiar to Nigeria alone as it obtains in the entire African Continent.
On his part, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu Abubakar, represented by the DIG research and planning, Adeleye Olusola, requested for time to dissect the Bill before coming up with a sound position.
The President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, whose organization is one of the bodies working with the House on the Bill, said they were doing a lot to re-energize relevant bodies of the NBA to face issues of human rights violations squarely.
“This is one collaboration that we’re proud of. The issues that confront our country and the Nigeria Police are issues that predate most of us. With regards to human rights violations, I think it’s a matter of orientation. In the proposed law, the issue of orientation is being addressed,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of PSC, Musiliu Smith, represented by retired Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, commended the House for coming up with the Bill, saying it would enhance the operations of the commission, requesting for more time to study the draft law.
In his intervention, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said majority of Nigerian police personnel were ready and qualified to do their job, but that the environment they operate on does not allow them to.
Lauding the House for the initiative, he said the Bill takes care of the independence of the commission with security of tenure and a broad membership.
Other speakers at the dialogue such as a youth advocate, Bobo Ajudua, and the Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Idayat Hassan, commended the House for the initiative and made some suggestions.
