It is no longer news that on the 25th of December 2022, Christmas day, Nigerian Police operatives on supposed stop and search duty flagged the vehicle that Bolanle Raheem and her family were riding in for a routine ‘search’. As the husband who was the one behind the wheels made to clear properly, earsplitting gunshots rang out. When the ensuing melee subsided, Bolanle, a trained lawyer with expertise in real estate and also a mother of children lay dying, from the effects of the bullet lodged in her cardiovascular region.
Despite somewhat ineffectual efforts to save her, Bolanle Raheem passed away. Reports have it that she was pregnant with twins. The news stirred the cinders of waned emotions from past incidents of unprovoked shooting by the police and led to an avalanche of reactions ranging from condemnations to calls for strict action against the perpetrators. The incident further triggered the exposure of information about the death of one Gafaru Buraimoh earlier in December 2022 from a gunshot by police officers from the same police unit in Ajah, Lagos State. It took the fatal shooting of a lawyer for Gafaru’s case to be unearthed from the scrapheap where it had been dumped even as the perpetrator freely walked about. The hullabaloo that attended lawyer Bolanle’s shooting forced the hands of the police. They quickly revealed the name of the man who shot Gafaru, one Inspector Imeh Johnson; but that was after they had announced that Drambi Vandi an Assistant Superintend of Police (ASP) was the man who fired the deadly shot that snuffed life out of Bolanle.
As we write, both men are in custody. ASP Drambi was suspended by the Police hierarchy forthwith. On the 30th of December 2022 the Lagos State Ministry of Justice charged Drambi Vandi to court on the allegation of murder. He was remanded pursuant to section 264 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2015 as amended. The DPP’s advice is being awaited.
Upon the death of Bolanle, the Police hierarchy promised swift and transparent investigations. The Lagos State Governor also called for calm and assured that everything would be done to get justice for Bolanle. The Presidency weighed in on the matter and condemned the act further promising to get to the root of the matter. Even presidential candidates were not left out of issuing statements on the tragedy. And then the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bolanle’s constituency. The NBA was not left out. The local branch leadership rose up in defence of one of their own. Other branches in Lagos State also showed solidarity. They visited the Divisional Police Officer of the culprit’s unit. They also had audience with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police amongst other steps. The National arm of NBA also stepped in. A committee headed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria was set up to monitor the trial of Officer Vandi. The National President and his team also visited Bolanle’s family and made assurances.
On the heels of all this, one pauses to ponder on the frequency and callousness of unprovoked shooting of innocent Nigerians by Police officers paid and empowered to protect them. Time would fail me to list the data and names of innocent Nigerian citizens who have been sent to the great beyond by trigger happy policemen without any tinge of provocation. The data on extrajudicial killings by the Police attest to the fact. Sadly however, the greater ponder is what the NBA have done over the years in the face of unabated shooting of innocent citizens. What concrete documented steps did the NBA take over the years in the face of other killings prior to the 25th December 2022 incident involving lawyer Bolanle? In the absence of concrete steps by the NBA, was Bolanle’s matter not reasonably foreseeable?
The business of protecting the rule of law and defending human rights is not a tea party. It takes bravery, courage and valor to take on entrenched anti-progressive forces anywhere they are. And the NBA has made the defence of human rights one of its constitutional objectives. If indeed the NBA intends to give life to that creed, then it must up its game. The current reality evinces the fact that the NBA has not lived up to expectation in actively working in defence of human rights. If in doubt, then let the NBA organize a feedback or opinion poll for citizens on their impact in this area. Would Bolanle have been so brutally shot on Christmas day if the NBA employed strict measures to place the police on check? While many concepts in the area of ensuring minimal abuses by the Police can be thought out, there are however, a few on-going ones which need a buy-in from the NBA.
1. The statutory monthly visit by Chief Magistrates pursuant to Section 34 of the ACJA 2015.
Section 34(1) provides,
‘The Chief Magistrate, or where there is no Chief Magistrate within the Police division, any Magistrate designated by the Chief Judge for that purpose, shall at least every month, conduct an inspection of police stations or other places of detention within his territorial jurisdiction other than the prison’
Subsection 2 states,
‘During a visit, the Magistrate may:
- Call for, and inspect, the record of arrests;
- Direct the arraignment of a suspect;
- Where bail has been refused, grant bail to any suspect where appropriate if the offence for which the suspect is held is within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate.
Subsection 4 states,
‘With respect to other Federal Government agencies authorized to make an arrest, the High Court having jurisdiction shall visit such detention facilities for the purpose provided in this section.’
This provision was designed to put the activities of the Police in check in respect of illegal arrests and detention. It is a statutory provision. If fully implemented the necessary psychological and other operational effect will rub off and cascade down the entire rank and file of the Police Force. And that is where the NBA should come in. Touted as the biggest lawyers’ Organization in Africa, the NBA has the manpower and wherewithal to give zest to this provision. Presently, the Duty Solicitors Nigeria (DSN) a coalition of lawyers from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria and individual volunteers are working in some states of the Federation to assist designated Magistrates in carrying out this statutory duty. As a member of DSN I have had the opportunity of accompanying a Chief Magistrate on several occasions in the fulfilment of this statutory role. One recurring discovery unearthed during those visits is the fact that almost all the police stations do not keep proper records of arrests, bail and release of persons. Of course in line with Section 34 (3) of the ACJA the officer in charge of the station should make books and records available to the visiting Magistrate. Apart from the tardy record keeping practice, some of the officers in charge have no knowledge of Section 34.
But the NBA can and should drive the implementation of this statutory provision. Thus far the DSN strives to keep it alive by not only accompanying the Magistrates but also making reports to the Chief Judge on perceived gaps. It must be stated that the DSN which has performed creditably well within the confines of its limited human and financial resources is self-funding. The NBA has branches in all States of the Federation and therein lies its advantage and pole position to achieve much more in this regard. Recently, reports came to the DSN of illegal detention of persons in the Nigerian Customs Service command at Ikeja Lagos State. Unfortunately, Magistrates do not cover that area. The ACJA saddles the
High Court in the jurisdiction with the responsibility of inspecting such agencies’ cells. Pray, when was the last time, if ever, a Judge visited detention facilities pursuant to Section 34(4) of the ACJA?
If the NBA does not rise to ensure strict compliance with these provisions, the Police will assume it is business as usual; going on to detain illegally, abuse, maim and kill innocent citizens just as they have done to lawyer Bolanle and many more before her. About 20 States have domesticated the ACJA and these laws have provisions to the same effect as Section 34. The Lagos State provision for instance is in Section 283 of the ACJL as amended. Other States have theirs. In the States where the Criminal Procedure Act(Law) and the Criminal Procedure Code law is still applicable, the same effect can be achieved by the instrumentality of Practice directions or a stakeholders agreement. But the NBA holds the aces in driving this.
2. The Police Force Order 20: The Force Order 20, a key policy instrument of the Nigeria Police Force amended in 2017 by then Inspector General of police Ibrahim Idris provides for free legal services to arrested and/or detained persons in Police formations and members of the Force. It gave rise to the Police Duty Solicitor Scheme (PDSS) and outlines modalities for the cooperation between the Police and the lawyers who render legal aid under the scheme.
The purpose which the Order seeks to achieve is to ensure that the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, The African Charter on Human and People’s rights LFN 2004, the Luanda Guidelines on policing in Africa and all other principles of human rights and access to justice are implemented as far as they apply to detainees and other persons in police custody in Nigeria. The bottom line of the Order and scheme is that by the Order, lawyers are empowered to access detention facilities and render legal assistance to inmates. This operates as a check on the entire system.
If afforded the opportunity to peruse the provisions of the Order and the attendant structure to implement it, one will immediately observe that it is a bold attempt to change policing in Nigeria for good, what with coming from the Police hierarchy themselves. But that is where it all ends or so it seems. The complementary availability of lawyers to give fillip to this provision is lacking. Many lawyers are ignorant of PDSS and what change it
can engender in policing in Nigeria. These lawyers include NBA officers, past and present. It is a poor scorecard of Bolanle’s constituency in providing the necessary checks on the system.
As we write, human rights abuses continue in many police formations across the country. Where these feral officers stop at their units, they continue on the streets and roads delivering anguish to homes and businesses through the nozzle of the gun.
Many lawyers, young ones especially, seek leadership and guidance in order to unleash their potentials through advocacy and pro bono activities. I have interacted with quite a number of these lawyers and get amazed at how much they want to experience what they were taught in school. Many want to be counted among change agents in a noble and principled way. Alas, not a few of them feel disillusioned that such opportunities are not made available. I implore the NBA to take hold of the PDSS and raise the bar in its implementation.
3. Human Rights Committee of NBA branches: Many NBA branches have human rights committees saddled with the responsibility to intervene in human rights abuses involving members and in the society generally. While acknowledging that a number of these branches have partly delivered on their mandate, much more needs to be done. One key aspect of the remit of these committees is to work proactively in preventing these abuses, not only to react after the deed must have been done.
In conclusion, it has become imperative for structured action to be galvanized and sustained in providing effective checks on our police and law enforcement agencies. That way, Bolanle would not have died in vain.
Aldous Huxley said, ‘All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important not to let any one person or small group have too much power for too long a time’
And James Madison added, ‘the truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted’.
BEN ABRAHAM is a lawyer and the Founder of ZAREPHATH AID, a Criminal Justice and Correctional Reform based Organization.
www.zarephathaid.org