Poised to explain the principles of the Police Act 2020, to “integrate it into daily policing practices”, and to “promote a culture of lawfulness and respect for human rights within the Nigeria Police Force”, Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), has organised one-day intensive town hall meeting to enlighten media professionals and citizens across Nigeria on the full implementation of the Police Act 2020.
Through targeted workshops for Police officers at various levels and public townhall meetings to raise awareness amongst citizens, the organization undertakes periodic training of relevant stakeholders directly involved in the corridors of full implementation of the Act.
The last of these exercises was the media town hall meeting on human rights, The Police Act 2020 and Regulations held at Rolarz Resorts and Hotel in Benin City, Edo State on Thursday, November 28, 2024 with the theme, “Enhancing Police Governance: Deepening Understanding of the Police Act 2020 and Regulations Across Nigeria”.
While delivering her lecture on the topic, “Presentation of The Police Act 2020/Regulations”, Ms Chinyere Oratokhai examined the various sections of the Act bordering on issues of interrogation, arrest, mode and rights of persons being arrested.
She explained the concept of Warrant, whether arrest without warrant as contained in Section 43; arrest with warrant in Section 44; execution of warrants, power to search with warrant and procedure for obtaining and executing warrants as found in Sections 45 through 47.
Oratokhai took particularly through the provisions on the Act on the use of Force in Section 33; Detention from Section 35 through 41 and the issue of bail.
She concluded the lecture with a call for journalists to intensively internalise the Police Act 2020 and show patriotism by effectively educating the police so as to curb unprofessional conducts by police officers which in turn lead to abuses of human rights.
Also speaking while delivering the lecture, “Promoting Awareness of the Nigeria Police Act: The Role of the Media”, Dr Isioma Kemakolam, took media practitioners across the various professional conducts required.
She also led the panel discussions on “Media Reporting: Mainstreaming of the Police Act 2020, especially in the reporting of arrest, stop and search, profiling and other related issues.”
Earlier at the event, a programme staff of PWAN, Ore Fatuyi, took participants through the core mandates of the organisation, saying the project was aimed at addressing the challenges in policing standards, practices and community relations in Nigeria.
She said, “PWAN is conducting this Media Townhall Meeting on Human Rights, The Police Act 2020 and Regulations.
“This meeting aims to educate the media on mainstreaming the Police Act 2020 into their reporting and its impact on police-citizen interactions.
“The meeting is an essential step to strengthening trust, transparency, and accountability between law enforcement agents and the community.”
The town hall which featured group presentations by media representatives from the six states in the South-South zone, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers states.
and panel discussions, ended with a call for journalists and other stakeholders to be committed to effective education of the public on the relevant sections of the Police Act 2020 to forestall abuses and infringements of human rights.
