Kaduna Govt. Inaugurates Judicial Commission to Inquiry into Police Brutality

Remarks by Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, Acting Governor of Kaduna State, at the inauguration of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into acts of brutality by Police personnel in Kaduna State, held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, on Monday, 19th October 2020
PROTOCOLS
1. Serious concerns about police accountability have in the last two weeks been expressed with unmistakable clarity. While the youths of this country have been at the forefront of making the urgent resolution of this issue a national priority, there is no doubt that on this matter they speak for more than only their demographic. The groundswell of support the youths have attracted reflects a widespread view that the crisis of policing is a national emergency.
2. The Federal Government and the state governments have endorsed the demand for reforms to policing. Central to this is a firm signal that impunity will not be tolerated. Therefore, the 36 state governors agreed at the last meeting of the National Economic Council to establish judicial commissions of inquiry into acts of police brutality in every state.
3. This is a critical step in establishing accountability for unlawful conduct by police personnel and creating a platform for victims and their families to receive redress for their pain and loss. Such an inquiry would also, along with other actions, help enthrone the principle that the police as the prime law enforcement agency in Nigeria must itself be governed by and uphold the rule of law.
4. The emergence of sustained institutional mechanisms for independent review of police actions will help provide safeguards against abuse of police powers. It will also help build public confidence that we can build a police service that can be relied upon to enforce the law fairly and impartially.
5. An inquiry into police failings is one of the first steps that can be immediately undertaken, among the several other measures required for securing comprehensive police reform. Foremost among these is the constitutional arrangement for policing, especially its funding, its governance, its training and professionalism and the welfare of its personnel.
6. Every state government is aware of the prevailing anomaly in policing: the deployment in all the states of police officers controlled by the Federal Government but whose operations are funded by state governments. As recommended by the APC Committee of The Federalism chaired by our Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, it is time to devolve policing powers and institute the necessary safeguards for lawful conduct and the protection of human rights.
7. My Lord, ladies and gentlemen, with solemn appreciation of the importance of this assignment, I hereby inaugurate the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Police Brutality in Kaduna State, and grant the Commission six months to conclude its work and submit its report.
8. As agreed by the National Economic Council, the Commission of Inquiry has the following terms of reference:
i. Receive and investigate complaints of Police brutality or related extra judicial killings;
ii. Evaluate evidence presented/other surrounding circumstances, and draw conclusions as to the validity of the complaints; and
iii. Recommend compensation and other remedial measures, where appropriate.
9. We wish the commission success in its work and we call on the general public, particularly the protesters and victims of any violation of human rights by the Police, to avail this Commission of Inquiry every relevant information to enable it to deliver justice to victims and to help orient the police to a new standard of rigorous compliance with the rule of law.
10. On behalf of the Kaduna State Government, we wish to register our gratitude to Hon. Justice David Shiri Wyom and the seven other members of this Commission of Inquiry for accepting to serve.
Thank you for listening.