Sunday Okobi
NALT international Club, a social justice and not-for-profit-making organisation of over 1,000 Nigerians across the world, has identified with the objectives and goals of the ongoing nationwide protests to address the excesses of the now proscribed Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force.
With the current outcry by the Nigerian youths against police brutality in the country, NALT is therefore calling for the complete overhaul of the very foundational structure of the Nigerian Police Force informed by genuine commitment and political will.
According to the group in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), NALT Club International, Okenna Nnamchi, and PRO, NALT Nigeria, Nwaeze, Okeoma, “We commiserate with all the innocent victims of alleged SARS brutality and the families of those who have suffered fatalities in the hands of this infamous police department.
“NALT International, like many Nigerians, acknowledges that the Nigerian Police Force is faced with numerous challenges such as opaque recruitment processes, inadequate training, poor remunerations, poor working conditions and benefits, and a non-existent development incentive.
“In this regard, analysts have opined that this frustration inform the attitude of the police towards the citizenry and the output of policing in the country.
“Nevertheless, there is no justification whatsoever why the Nigerian police is so loathed by the same citizenry they have sworn to serve and to protect. Presently the angst of Nigerians, sometimes justifiably so, against their own very police service men and women, is so overwhelming that a monumental change needs to come in fast.
We therefore call for a holistic reform that strengthens/sustains police-citizens relations, and revamps community confidence in the police such as legislation-the present Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which governs the establishment of the Nigerian Police Force is no longer fit-for-purpose.”
They noted that the Nigerian Police require an enforceable legislation which will be in line with international human rights laws, and explicitly specify its functions and powers.
