The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.
Femi Gbajabiamila, has said there is the need to reform the Nigeria Police and
restore public confidence in them.
He stated categorically that the House would not
accept extrajudicial killings, harassment, intimidation and other forms of
violence unleashed on innocent citizens by some men of the Nigeria Police.
The Speaker, who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja
while declaring open a public hearing by the House Committee on Police Affairs
chaired by Hon. Usman Kumo, bemoaned the recent alleged extrajudicial killing
of a footballer by the police in Sagamu, Ogun State.
He stated that although the public hearing with the
theme: 'Repositioning the Nigeria police for an Enhanced Delivery' might come
with some uncomfortable truths, the Nigeria Police should take home the
contributions of stakeholders as they would be the ultimate beneficiaries.
Gbajabimila said the public hearing has been
convened to examine the ways the House could act to improve the capacity of the
Nigerian police to deliver on their obligations to Nigerians.
The Speaker, however, described as unfortunate a
situation where some men of the Nigeria police saddled with the constitutional
responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the people, turn out to
be against the citizens.
He stressed that more than any other institution
of the state, it is the police force that relates to the citizens daily, adding
that in many communities across Nigeria, the police force is the only
representative of the Nigerian state, and the connection between the citizens
and the state is often defined by their interactions with the Nigeria Police.
Gbajabimila noted that when the agencies that
should protect the lives and property of the people become predatory, they lose
the faith of the public and become incapable of delivering on this
responsibility.
According to him, "It is unfortunate and
entirely unacceptable that the relationship between the police and many of
these communities is now defined by fear, mutual antagonism and an absolute
loss of faith in the ability of the police to protect as well as serve the
people.
"In the last few days, we have all witnessed
as the city of Sagamu in Ogun State has been unsettled by an orgy of violence
resulting from the extrajudicial killing of a young footballer by officers of
the Nigerian Police."
The Speaker equally lamented that the citizens, who
gathered to protest this killing, were dispersed by police bullets, stressing
that the Sagamu killing was not an isolated incident, as the green chamber is
daily inundated with news reports of interactions between citizens and the
police resulting in the injury and death of those citizens.
He said reports of police harassment of young
people have become so rampant that they barely even break through the news
cycle except when public anger becomes so great that it results in a breakdown
of law and order.
The Speaker said: "We can no longer stand for
this, and we will not. This House of Representatives has a responsibility to
speak for our citizens and we will continue to do so even when it is
inconvenient."
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