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The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has urged the Nigerian government to use the recent extrajudicial killing of one of the suspects arrested for involvement in the deadly attack on the convoy of Apostle Johnson Suleman to demonstrate its commitment to end extrajudicial killings in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma said that Nigeria has an obligation under several regional and international human rights treaties to which it was a party, to ensure effective investigation of all cases of unlawful killing.
He added: “The strong link between extrajudicial executions and the escalation of terrorism in Nigeria has been recognised and acknowledged by everyone, including by a one-time sitting Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN. Extrajudicial executions have become a factor in raising the monster of extremism in Northern Nigeria. The Nigerian government must put an end to third-degree methods and extra-judicial executions as the principal method of policing.”
He further stated that in December 2012, Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, disclosed thus, “Even the most charitable defenders of the Force cannot deny that some dishonourable officers indeed have taken the law into their hands in the most brutal fashion by killing suspects and innocent citizens. For the avoidance of doubt, the constitutional derogation to the right to life which sanctions the use of force to curb an escapee is no blank cheque to carry out extra-judicial killings….Nonetheless, the government cannot afford to ignore this dangerous trend by which the lives of innocent citizens are endangered or snuffed out by those whose constitutional duty is to secure the lives and property of the citizenry. Most of these challenges appear to have been significantly tackled by the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on the Re-organization of the Nigeria Police which recently submitted its report. It is instructive that among other recommendations, the report highlighted the need to embark on a continuous weeding out of bad and unscrupulous elements who on account of arbitrariness and opaqueness in recruitment exercise had found their way into the force.”
According to Nwanguma, as part of its role, the Police Service Commission was required to ensure administrative accountability for such malfeasance and crimes. “Government must use this recent case to demonstrate, beyond rhetoric, its commitment to end extrajudicial killings,” said Nwanguma.
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