Gideon Arinze in Enugu
A non-governmental organization, Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, has launched a project intended to improve public understanding and implementation of the Police Act 2020 in Enugu.
Supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the project, titled “Enhancing Public Trust and Gender-Responsive Policing in Nigeria Through the Effective Implementation of Police Act,” will cover six geopolitical zones, including Enugu, Borno, Adamawa, Kano, Plateau, Lagos, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Niger, and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking during a town hall meeting held as part of the implementation of the project, Executive Director of the NGO, Ms. Kemi Okenyodo, said that Nigeria has faced systemic issues in its policing, characterized by allegations of corruption, misuse of power, and a significant disconnect between police operations and community expectations.
“These problems have been exacerbated by a lack of comprehensive understanding and inconsistent implementation of policing laws among the officers and management of the NPF,” she said.
To address this, she said that the NGO was implementing a project across the country to address critical gaps in the understanding and application of the Police Act 2020 within the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
“We will build the capacity of senior police officers, sensitize the public on the provisions of the Act, and hold media town hall meetings on the provisions of the Act,” she said. “This will improve the knowledge of the police officers and citizens of recent changes and reforms within the police force and further improve human rights application as contained in the Act,”.
Earlier, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, said that the police service commission is partly to blame for the poor implementation of the Act.
“The commission exists to provide external oversight to ensure that the police carry out their job, but it has not been active due to political interference,” he said.
