ENDSARS: NASS Plans New Law For Police, Others
The Senate and the House of Representatives will soon draft new legislation for the Police and other arms of the paramilitary to address some of the unwanted conducts, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa, has said.
The plan by the National Assembly is coming in the wake of the protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) over the involvement of its operatives in extra-judicial killings of innocent Nigerians and violation of people’s rights.
Doguwa, who appeared on a Channels TV programme, Sunrise Daily, said the proposed legislation has become necessary in view of the National Assembly’s duty to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
He said, “The two arms of the National Assembly represent the citizens and with that, we have to be concerned with the governance, welfare and security of the people.
“Obviously the fundamental business of the government is the security of lives and property of our people. On that note, the two arms are particularly concerned about the incessant and flagrant abuse of power and violation of human rights by this particular unit of the police force -SARS.
“There has been a derail, a sharp departure from their core mandate. At the Senate, we must ensure that our rules must not be despised by anyone. Thus, we are creating a legal framework for accountability.”
Doguwa said going by the existing laws as contained in Nigeria’s constitution, there is a provision for individuals serving in the Police Force an unpatented and unjustifiable protection.
He said, “Looking at the law Section 215, subsection 5, it is clearly stated that no one can make any enquiry at the court of law regarding the responsibility of the policeman.
“With respect to the drafters of our Constitution, I think it was an oversight which we can not allow to override the interest of the welfare of our people.
“The Constitution will also state what the police officer can do during interrogation and in the place where he is wrong, he can get penalized.”
Comments are closed.