Abstract

Police brutality has become rife in Nigeria and is regarded by some as a normal part of police operations. This is despite the fact that the Nigerian Constitution provides for the guarantee of the right to dignity and the protection against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. Nigeria is also party to some international treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which expressly prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. This raises the question whether police brutality in Nigeria amounts to torture and / or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and whether the existing legal framework sufficiently prevents and punishes the perpetrators of these acts.

Highlights

  • Nigeria is party to international treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),[1] the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)[2] and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).[3]

  • Nigeria is party to some international treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which expressly prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. This raises the question whether police brutality in Nigeria amounts to torture and / or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and whether the existing legal framework sufficiently prevents and punishes the perpetrators of these acts

  • The second section will focus on Nigerian law, with emphasis on the Nigerian Constitution and the Police Act, with the aim of exploring whether an adequate legal framework exists within the Nigerian legal system for the prohibition and punishment of torture and other inhuman treatment

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Summary

Introduction

Nigeria is party to international treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),[1] the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)[2] and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).[3]. The existing legal structure and its inefficiency and incompetency to curb this abuse of police power is discussed in this work It maintains that Nigeria is in breach of its obligation to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The second section will focus on Nigerian law, with emphasis on the Nigerian Constitution and the Police Act, with the aim of exploring whether an adequate legal framework exists within the Nigerian legal system for the prohibition and punishment of torture and other inhuman treatment. This section goes further to examine the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under international human rights law. The Nigeria Police Force Order 237 will be examined ‘vis-à-vis’ international human rights law and it shall be determined whether it constitutes an exception to the international law prohibition against torture and other inhuman treatment. The research of these organisations on police brutality was conducted on a nationwide basis and offers a view of the acts perpetrated by the different command units of the Nigerian Police, rather than just a few commands of the Nigeria Police Force

Origin of Police Brutality in Nigeria
Nigerian Law on Torture
Torture under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights
Force Order 237 and the Exemption of Lawful Sanctions
Findings
In Lieu of Conclusion

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