Dismissing the action as atrocious, primitive and a total breach of the fundamental human rights of a Nigerian Child, a Democracy inclined Non-Governmental Organization-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] has strongly condemned the recent action of the Ogun state Police command of parading a two-months old baby, the mother and a teenager for alleged robbery committed by the father of the toddler just as the Rights body wants the Federal Government to fish out the Police officers responsible for this dastardly act that is totally unconstitutional, illegal and criminal and punish them adnistratively to serve as deterrent for future breach of the rights of the Nigerian Children.
The media recently reported that the police in the Ogun state capital had paraded the two months old baby-master Oyinkansola Adeosun, the baby’s mother Mrs. Fausat and a fifteen year old teenager Master Tobi Adeosun over an alleged robbery committed by the baby’s father-Ismail Adeosun who fled before the police arrived the house.
The Ogun state Police Commissioner Mr. Ikemefuna Aduba reportedly told the media that the mother of the baby and the teenager were arrested for allegedly keeping gun for her husband but the woman claimed that she was no longer married to the fleeing robbery suspect and that she consistently asked the man to take away the gun which one of the arrested brothers was in the process of removing before all of them were apprehended by the police operatives.
But HURIWA in a statement to the media signed jointly by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss. Zainab Yusuf, faulted the primitive and unconstitutional practice of parading crime suspects before they are properly charged to the competent courts of law even when section 36[5] provides that crime suspects remain innocent in the eye of the law until proven guilty by the court of competent jurisdiction just as chapter four of the constitution containing the fundamental rights of every Nigerian citizen provided for fair hearing to be given to any crime suspect arrested for any kind of offence.
HURIWA said under no circumstances are the law enforcement officers allowed to parade a completely innocent two months old toddler whose only misfortune is that the child is a product of a very deprived and poor background. The group said what the police has succeeded in doing is to destroy the dignity of this innocent child which runs contrary to all known civilize policing standards and practices even as the group demanded sanction for this outrageous breach.
The Rights group then tasked the Inspector General of police Mr. Abubakar Dikko Muhammed and the Police Service Commission to ensure that police operatives comply with extant human rights standards and practices in their work of law enforcement in order not to make Nigeria a laughing stock before the international civilized human community who expect Nigeria as a signatory to several international humanitarian laws and human rights treaties, conventions to keep to their international and municipal obligations of promoting and protecting the fundamental human rights of all citizens including toddlers and teenagers.
HURIWA stated thus; “We totally condemn this evil practice of continuous public parade of crime suspects even before they are properly charged to competent courts of law. The operatives of the Nigeria Police must be made to comply to international human rights standards and practice by ensuring that the right crime suspects are arrested, scientific and forensic evidence generated by the police in an atmosphere of professional competence devoid of the usual obtaining of confessional statements by duress”.
The Rights group submitted further thus; “The concern of the police should not be to engage in media celebration of their so-called gallantry but must focus on effective and efficient law enforcement mechanism which will culminate in the successful trials and conviction of all crime suspects because what we currently see is that police rushes to the press to parade the crime suspects and neglect to gather good enough evidence and the courts end up setting these suspects free even after their public image is damaged by the police. Nigeria must become a civilized democracy and stop all traces of impunity and executive recklessness by the police operatives”.
