The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu rtd, mni, has continued his advocacy for respect for human rights of Nigerian citizens and recognition/protection of the rights of victims of crime.
DIG Argungu and a strong delegation from the PSC was at the Corporate Headquarters of the Human Rights Commission in Abuja where he met with the Executive Secretary, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, and Members of the Management team.
He remembered his days as a Member of the Anti SARS Panel that sat at the Human Rights Commission office where he noted the cooperation he enjoyed throughout his membership. He however remarked that more efforts are still required of the Human Rights body to cripple human rights abuses in Nigeria.
The PSC Chairman mentioned extra-judicial killings, illegal arrests, searching and detention, sexual abuses as some of the issues still haunting the nation’s Human Rights record which he charged the Commission to find a way to mitigate or eliminate.
DIG Argungu also frowned at the parade of suspects in chains and neglect of victims of crime.
He called for balancing of the Justice system where attention should also be given to victims of crime and not only the suspects.
The PSC Chairman said it was a mockery of the criminal justice system stressing that some of the Nigerian laws are obsolete and needed fresh impetus.
The PSC Chairman welcomed a collaborative partnership with the Human Rights Commission and announced that PSC will henceforth involve them in its recruitment processes.
The Executive Secretary in his remarks told his visitors that the Human Rights Commission is building a digitalised platform for the processing of human rights cases and noted that the platform will be linked to the Commission so that the two government Agencies will in partnership take the war against abuses to the next level.
Dr. Ojukwu said the nation can not continue to watch the abuse of the human rights of citizens and appealed to the PSC Chairman to partner with his Commission to give the nation something to cheer.
He also hoped that with DIG Argungu who was a member of the Panel on the Anti SARs riot, as Chairman of the PSC, most of the unresolved cases would be brought to conclusion.