The Speaker House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Wednesday during the plenary announced some of the plans by the House, aimed at tackling police brutality in the country.
Gbajabiamila said over the next 30 days, the House will work with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), civil society and with Nigerians of good conscience to draft new legislation that establishes a system of independent accountability from the Force.
The new legislation, according to the Speaker, will hold erring members of the Police Force to account for their conduct in the performance of their duties and impose civil and criminal liability for violations of the Police Code.
It will also compel the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to take responsibility for the failures of training and discipline that leads to such violations.
Gbajabiamila, in his statement said, “The misconduct and abuse of authority by officers of the Nigeria Police Force across the country and the need for additional police reforms.
“Every day, throughout our country, interactions between the police and our citizens results in acts of horrific brutality, extortion/retribution against the Nigerian people. Too many of the people we assigned to protect our citizens have shown themselves unworthy”
“Unfortunately, many of those who have betrayed our trust in this manner are never answerable for their actions. At the heart of this fundamental failure lies the unavoidable truth that we do not have an independent framework for ensuring that members of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) are appropriately held to account when they fail to adhere to the policies and laws that govern their operations”.
“We have long expected the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to police itself,” he added, noting that it is now abundantly clear that for the benefit of a functioning system of policing in Nigeria, parliament has to step in to introduce an independent, fair and practical approach to ensure that those to whom we grant the authority to act in the name of the state, are held to the highest standards of professional conduct,” he added.
