THE Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has banned the Nigeria Police Force from parading suspects.
A parade is a public display of a person suspected to have committed a crime.
Senior police officers contacted in the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos State Police Command told our correspondent that they were informed of the development.
One of them told our correspondent, “I am aware of it. I think the directive was given by the AGF earlier this month or thereabouts and the information was passed down to us. You would have noticed some level of compliance. “
Another top police officer in the FCT said, “ Yes, we have been asked to stop parading suspects.”
When contacted, the Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the police would issue a statement on the ban at the appropriate time.
“The police will react officially on the matter when it is time. We will make an official statement soon,” Adejobi said.
The Special Assistant on Communication and Publicity to the Minister, Mr. Kamorudeen Ogundele, could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
Speaking on the matter, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said the practice of parading suspects was illegal.
He said, “The practice of parading suspects is illegal as it constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental right of criminal suspects to the presumption of innocence guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“It is equally discriminatory as only lowly placed criminal suspects are exposed to media parade by the police and other law enforcement agencies.
“While poor suspects are paraded for allegedly stealing tubers of yam or telephone handsets valued at N10,000 or less, politically-exposed persons accused of looting the public treasury to the tune of N10 billion or more are never paraded before the media.”
Falana stated that over five judgments had declared that the parading of suspects is illegal.
He said, “Even though the incriminating statements procured from criminal suspects during media parade are not admissible during trial in criminal courts, they are used by law enforcement agencies to compel members of the public to participate in mob justice.
“There are five judgments of the ECOWAS Court and Federal High Courts which have declared the parade of suspects illegal.
“I have sued all law enforcement and security agencies to justify the illegal parade of suspects.”
Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) described the practice as unnecessary and unjust.
He expressed concerns over the long-term reputational damage inflicted on individuals who may later be found innocent.
He said, “I want to say that this issue has persisted for many years, lingering unnecessarily.
“I want to implore the present Inspector General of Police to stop the practice of parading suspects. Because such suspects, at the end of the day, maybe found not guilty, but the damage done to their reputation remains permanent. Unfortunately, while people widely see and remember the parade, fewer pay attention when the courts eventually exonerate the accused.
“The Inspector General should direct all officers across the 36 state police commands to stop parading criminal suspects. There is no need for such displays—if the police have a solid case, they should take the suspect to court.
“It is different when a person is leaving the courtroom and the media captures images as part of their normal job. In such cases, the matter is already before the court and is subjudice. However, parading individuals before they are even tried, labelling them as criminals is unjust and should be discontinued.”