As part of efforts to strengthen Police reform in Nigeria, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is validating a training manual on mainstreaming Human Rights into Law Enforcement in Nigeria to curb rights violations by security agents.
The validation exercise was part of a larger project on strengthening Police reform in Nigeria, funded by MacArthur Foundation and being implemented by the Commission, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President, CLEEN Foundation; Network for Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN), and Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC).
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu,SAN who stated this during the opening ceremony of the validation exercise noted that the training manual was expected to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agents on human rights principles, accountability and respect for rule of law.
According to the Chief Custodian of Human Rights in Nigeria, the training manual is divided into seven (7) modules as follows: module 1- Police ethics and code of conduct, module 2- Policing and human rights, module 3- stop and search, module 4- arrest, module 5- detention, module 6- use of force, module 7- public order policing.
The purpose of the two-day validation meeting, the Executive Secretary stated, was to ensure the manual is vetted and made fit for purpose, and that the course content is engaging and provides trainees with relevant knowledge and expertise to mainstream human rights into law enforcement.
The NHRC Boss disclosed that once the validation process is concluded, the manual would be deployed to train Police personnel in nine (9) states across the Six geo-political zones, and subsequently become a resource material for for other training activities of law enforcement officers.
In her remarks, the Director Human Rights Institute in the Commission, Mrs Ifeoma Nwakama, mni, explained the objectives of the training manual, saying that the essence is to mainstream human rights principles into the operations of law enforcement agents.
In her goodwill message at the event, the Acting Executive Director CLEEN Foundation, Ruth Olofin commended the Commission’s efforts in developing the manual, saying that it is imperative for the law enforcement officers to take advantage of the manual and discharge their duties professionally.
Similarly, a representative from Network of Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Josephine Alabi lauded the NHRC and its other partners for coming up with the training manual, stated that it will go a long way to improve the operations of the law enforcement officers in the country.
She pledged the support of NOPRIN in ensuring that the Commission succeeds in making more impacts in the Police reform project.
