The Nigeria Police headquarters has denied a report that they unlawfully killed over 5,000 detainees every year across the country.
The Chairman, Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu reportedly said at a workshop on the Nigerian Criminal Justice System in Abuja that police executes over 5,000 detainees summarily every year.
He also revealed that officers responsible for the killings were never punished.
But, the police headquarters’ spokesman, Olusola Amore, a deputy commissioner, said the commission did not consult with the police to substantiate the actual number of people killed illegally.
According to him, “I am not aware of the report because the commission did not consult the police to verify the actual number. I don’t know how they arrived at that but it’s their opinion and they are entitled to their opinion,”
Amore said even though there may be some incident of extra-judicial killing carried out by the police, but the number given by the commission wasn’t precise.
He said, “I can’t say there was no case of extra-judicial killing by the police. During the fuel subsidy protest, a DPO was allegedly said to have fired shots that led to the death of a protester in Lagos and he was arrested”.
DailyPost Nigeria
