The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide
Akpata, has called for better ways to hold erring police personnel
accountable for their actions in the country.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
He made the call on Thursday during his appearance on a Police
Reform Townhall organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre
(PLAC), in collaboration with Channels Television.
![image](/2020/10/NWLRland.jpg")
Akpata believes while the efforts to pass and sign the Police
Act 2020 into law are commendable, the Act lacks some vital
components.
“In this new Act, there does not appear to be a clearly laid out
accountability framework and that for me, is a major concern.
“The Act is full of prescriptions; it is loaded with
prescriptions as to what standard operational procedures should be
regarding policing,” he said.
The NBA president added, “There are no consequences for bad
behaviours and rules that govern how a policeman will be held
accountable for their actions.”
He stressed the need for grassroots policing, saying it was
important for the police to gain the trust of the citizen who they
protect.
Akpata advised the police authorities to lead the enlightenment
campaign aimed at educating the people as to what their rights
were, as contained in the Act.
He stated that this was important in gaining the people’s trust,
as the implementation strategies for the Police Act 2020 would
determine its success.
The legal practitioner said, “The ever-widening trust deficit
between the police and the citizens that they are meant to be
protecting; speaking as a lawyer, I also know that this cynicism is
a function of even just the relationship between the police and
lawyer, you will be shocked to find out how abysmal that
relationship is at the moment.”
“The trust between the police and even the lawyers has broken
down, not to talk about police and the citizen.
“I am hoping that if we get those implementation strategies
right, we should be able to arrive at our promise land,” he
added.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide
Akpata, has called for better ways to hold erring police personnel
accountable for their actions in the country.
He made the call on Thursday during his appearance on a Police
Reform Townhall organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre
(PLAC), in collaboration with Channels Television.
Akpata believes while the efforts to pass and sign the Police
Act 2020 into law are commendable, the Act lacks some vital
components.
“In this new Act, there does not appear to be a clearly laid out
accountability framework and that for me, is a major concern.
“The Act is full of prescriptions; it is loaded with
prescriptions as to what standard operational procedures should be
regarding policing,” he said.
The NBA president added, “There are no consequences for bad
behaviours and rules that govern how a policeman will be held
accountable for their actions.”
He stressed the need for grassroots policing, saying it was
important for the police to gain the trust of the citizen who they
protect.
Akpata advised the police authorities to lead the enlightenment
campaign aimed at educating the people as to what their rights
were, as contained in the Act.
He stated that this was important in gaining the people’s trust,
as the implementation strategies for the Police Act 2020 would
determine its success.
The legal practitioner said, “The ever-widening trust deficit
between the police and the citizens that they are meant to be
protecting; speaking as a lawyer, I also know that this cynicism is
a function of even just the relationship between the police and
lawyer, you will be shocked to find out how abysmal that
relationship is at the moment.”
“The trust between the police and even the lawyers has broken
down, not to talk about police and the citizen.
“I am hoping that if we get those implementation strategies
right, we should be able to arrive at our promise land,” he
added.