By Martin Odiete
As the spate of extra judicial killing continue to ravage the country in recent times, the National Human Right Commission has declared unequivocally that the commission is now ready to go after law enforcement officers who are involved in the act.
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday at the Commission headquarters in Abuja, Executive Secretary, Anthony Okechukwu Ojukwu has noted that the recommendation on how the issue would be addressed was seriously captured in the reports of the police and SARS panel which he noted had been submitted to the government.
He maintained that the Commission is not folding its arm on the issue maintaining that they are really working on making sure that officers who involved in extra judicial killing would no longer be at peace in Nigeria again.
“On the spate of extra Judicial killings which is going on now in the country, you remember during the report on the reform of police and SARS the issue of extra judicial killing was one of the key issues we investigated and we raised an alarm at the rate of extra judicial killings by law enforcement agencies. Now, that is fully represented in that report which has been submitted to the government and the government is looking at that report. So, I think that what is happening now is corroborating the report of the panel that, yes there were extra judicial killings, and action needs to be taken.
Anthony Ojukwu also explained that ensuring accountability of people’s action would go a long way to curbing the dreaded act in Nigeria.
“On our own part, we recommended that there is need for accountability in the system. Officers who are law enforcement agents who are involved in extra judicial killing, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment or violation of human right need to know that there would be a day for accountability.
He also noted that apart from implementing the report of the panel, that the National Human Right Commission is also putting in place a sustainable process where the issue would be tackled properly.
“In that report, we have been able to make recommendations on how those officers who were indicted would be made accountable for the extra judicial killings we investigated. But on a sustainable bases, we have also recommended that the National Human Right Commission should be to at least once every year examine all allegations of extra judicial killings and Human Right violations by law enforcement agencies. We want to make it a p0ermenet yearly activity of the National Human Right Commission. When the Commission brings out a period of three to four months to go round every part of this country and investigate all allegation of extra judicial killings human right violation by law enforcement agencies, as well as press for accountability for this.
“We think this is necessary that every law enforcement officer in this country must have in mind that whatever they have done in secrete, whatever they have done in violation of Human Right there will be a day of accountability. That is the regime the National Human Right Commission wants to promote and protect. We want a situation where if you decide to violate the law, if you decide to commit extra judicial killing be rest assured that one day the National Human Right Commission will come after you. That is the legacy we want to leave,” he concluded.
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