By Stephen Simon
In commemoration of Nigeria’s 66th Independence on 1st October, the Human Rights Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association Surulere Branch took the message of Human rights promotion and observance to the Nigerian Police formations in the Surulere Area. The visits which covered the Bode Thomas,
Aguda and Itire Divisions as well as the Area C Command Ojuelegba under the Police Duty Solicitor Scheme (PDSS) had lawyers from the branch interact with both the officers and detainees in the custody of the various formations.
Led by the Branch Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Mr Cosmas Chukwuma, the team charged the Divisional Police Officers to uphold the rights of detainees in every matter reported to them. The suspects
were offered instant legal counselling while the officers were urged to grant them bail or charge them to court immediately after the Independence Day observance which was a work-free day. The challenges confronting the various units were also noted by the Committee chief of which is the shortage of manpower. The Committee also delivered letters from the branch Chairman Mr Eniola Omotoye to the DPOs.
The team promised to make the visits a regular feature and urged the Police to see human rights activists as partners. Force Order 20, a Police legal instrument that birthed the work of Duty Solicitors in
Police Stations all over the country was formalized in 2017 by the then IGP Idris and through the scheme thousands of suspects have received pro bono service by lawyers in several parts of the country.
