The Police Authority, the International Federation of Women Lawyers and the Civil Society Organizations have held divergent views over the Police Trust Fund Act 2019 signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking at the inauguration of the CSO-PTF Support and Oversight Group for the South-West zone organized by RULAAC in Ibadan, the former chairperson of FIDAN, Oyo State branch, Barrister Deborah Oluyemisi Collins noted the enactment of the PTF Act might force other security agencies in the Country to demand same.
She opined that instead of limiting the fund to the Police, it should have been better to name it Security Trust Fund in order for other security agencies to have access to it.
Collins argued the issue of security is not limited to the police alone, hence the reason other security agencies should be captured by the Fund, adding that other agencies are suffering a similar fate of underfunding like the police.
According to her, there is a need for the Federal government to take a cue from what is going on in Lagos State, especially the setting up of the Security Trust Fund as against the Federal government Police Trust Fund Act with a limited scope. She stated that the Lagos Security Trust Fund encourages the active participation of donor agencies due to its scope. The Act allows the Fund to be channelled into other security areas.
The former FIDAN chairperson also alleged the Police Authority of impeding speedy prosecution of cases which according to him, in turn, is responsible for the congestion of Correctional facilities in the Country.
Speaking on behalf of the AIG zone X1, Joseph Mukun, the Officer-in-Charge of Legal Matters, Oyo Police Command, CSP Fawole Adu said the PTF would go a long way in addressing multifaceted challenges confronting the police nationwide.
She submitted that Police have the constitutional responsibility of securing the lives and properties but it is sad to note that the same institution lacks the manpower and equipment to discharge its duty.
Adu submitted that with the signing of the PTF Act, the Police would be able to discharge its function as enshrined in the constitution.
The Police officer also stressed the need for the public to have a change of mindset, stating that the disposition of the public to the police is not encouraging.
In his address, the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the project is designed to address the persistent problem of police brutality and human rights violations by the police. According to him, globally, police institutions have come under scrutiny and concerns about the delivery of their mandate, especially on the issue of extrajudicial killings and the use of force beyond permissible levels by police officers across the globe.
To address these concerns in Nigeria, the Consortium proposed a series of actions aimed at bridging a nexus in communication on policy formulation and police reform agenda in Nigeria.
”Our intervention seeks to address the various concerns regarding policing practices in Nigeria aimed ultimately at protecting Nigeria’s fragile democracy. We collectively recognise the need to strengthen the capacity of the police to understand their role in the survival of Nigeria’s democracy by upholding the tenets of police accountability and respect for human rights which, among others, define democratic policing.”
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