Police Extend Human Rights Training To Anambra

A week-long UNODC,
Swiss Government sensitisation and training of trainers on human rights for the Anambra Command of the Nigeria Police Force has opened in Awka, the state capital.
A statement by the Media Focal Person for the Nigeria Police Human Rights Training Project, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ibrahim, in Abuja said the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) was coordinating the workshop, organised by the police with support from the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Other partners involved in the project, according to him, are the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) of the Swiss Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
He reported the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, as telling participants that the training programme was aimed at re-aligning policing in the country with current democratic norms.
The I-G, he said, was represented at the opening session of the workshop by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) on Training and Development, Mr Emmanuel Inyang.
The police boss was reported as saying that a human rights module was incorporated into the curriculum of a special nationwide training recently organised for operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Idris said that although the police were trained to be firm in their law enforcement duties, there was the need for them toobserve the fundamental human rights of crime suspects.
He urged them to always bear in mind that policing in a democracy was different from what obtained in a military regime.
He implored them to adopt the change agenda of the current administration by operating within the law, rules and regulations as well as regional and international conventions to earn the confidence of the public.
In his capacity as DIG, Inyang told the participants that the fundamental duties of a police officer include serving the community, safeguarding lives and property, protecting the innocent and keeping the peace.
According to him, the officer is also duty bound to ensure that the rights of the people to liberty, equality and justice are respected.