According to the young man, ironically the policemen picked his two friends and himself after failing to nab the main gladiators who had fled on sighting the police. In his words, “we were taken to a secluded part of the area where we were given the beating of our lives even after we pleaded that we were innocent bystanders and not the real culprits. But they refused to listen. One of them demanded that we give them N20, 000 each if we wanted our freedom. Since we didn’t have any money on us we pleaded further even asking them to give us time to raise the money but they would not listen. After the serious beating which left one of us unconscious we were finally taken to the police station at Apo area one where we were charged with armed robbery. We were detained for a period of five days without bail. In the end, we had to part with over N300, 000 to secure our cars and lives back. The experience left me with some serious scars not only physically but emotionally.”

Sola’s wife lost her pregnancy during the trying period as a result of the emotional trauma she experienced raising money to release her hubby. Interestingly a few weeks after Sola was equally detained at the anti robbery office, SARS headquarters, this time on spurious charges that he defrauded a spurned former girlfriend of N580,000. This time around, he had to use another N100,000 to ensure his release with the promise to pay the sum to the complainant.

Mercy Asuquo, a 16 year old girl who resides with her elder sister in Mararaba, also has a sad tale to tell of her experiences in the hands of the police. She was detained for three days at the Mararaba police station for allegedly aiding armed robbers in the course of their operation. But Mercy denies this. The police detectives had acted on a tip off that some armed robbers in the course of trying to get away from the scene of a crime had snatched the handset of the victim. Further investigations with the aid of the phone company had revealed that a call had been made from the same mobile set a few minutes after the heist. The call had been traced to Mercy’s GSM set and she had been subsequently arrested. Despite the fact that she was not mature enough by law to be charged without the aid of a legal officer, she was flung into jail. It took the dedication of an indefatigable investigator before the mystery could be unraveled. It turned out to be that the robbers on the said day, had thrown the handset out of the getaway vehicle. The phone had then been picked by a friend of Mercy’s who had then foolishly used the set to call her line. That was why the call had been traced to her. However, the teenage girl had to spend many days (without having her bath) behind the counter before her release but not before a few naira notes had allegedly changed hands again!

For 35 year old Idowu Aka, an event manager in Abuja, who also does human rights advocacy in his spare time, ignorance accounts for why people do not demand their rights whenever they are arrested. He says that he has also experienced serial abuse from the police on several occasions but he had come to realize that knowing ones right could be a buffer from such abuse. “Many do not actually know that they can request for bail whenever they are arrested as long as it is a bailable offence.

That is why many are still suffering at the hands of the police. The police as we know them, are always eager to arrest even on incredulous allegations. That is their stock in trade. Imagine, there was a day that I went to report an assault case to the police and I ended up being locked up alongside with the culprit. It is that bad. But they cash in on the notion that people do not know their rights. For God’s sake, why should you pay a police officer for securing your release on bail? But that is exactly what happens in Nigeria today. I think the people ought to be enlightened on their bail rights. Even the police themselves ought to be retrained to know that the notion, ‘bail is free’ actually means bail is free. But this is abused on a daily basis…”

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” first released in 2004, notes succinctly that police abuse in Nigeria still remains at an all time high, heightened by the ignorance of the people of their fundamental human rights. It paints a dreary picture: “The constitution prohibits arbitrary arrests and detention; however, security forces generally do not observe these prohibitions. Police and security forces continue to use arbitrary arrests and detention.

Police and security forces were empowered to make arrests without warrants based on reasonable suspicion that a person had committed an offence; they often abuse this power. Under the law, police may arrest and detain persons for 24 hours before charging them with an offence. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest and to take the accused to a police station for processing within a reasonable amount of time. By law, police must provide suspects with the opportunity to engage counsels and post bail. However, police generally do not adhere to these procedures. Suspects routinely were detained without being informed of the charges, denied access to counsel and family members, and denied the opportunity to post bail for bailable offences. Detainees often are kept incommunicado for long periods of time.

The provision for bail often was arbitrary or subject to extrajudicial influence. In many parts of the country, there was no functioning system of bail, so suspects are held in investigative detention for sustained periods of time. Numerous suspects alleged that police demanded payment before they were taken to court to have their cases heard. If family members attended court proceedings, police often demanded an additional payment,” it states inter alia.

Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Police, Yemi Ajayi a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) notes that the police ought not to be vilified for carrying out its constitutional duties every time there is an accusation. He told Sunday Trusts on the issue of bail that not all offences are bailable. “Imagine someone who was arrested for assault and battery charges and is released based on the fact that the victim is still alive but in a critical situation. For instance, if such a person is released on bail and the victim eventually dies and the culprit cannot be found who then do you blame? The police of course! A simple assault case in my experience can turn out to be manslaughter or even murder. That is why we are always careful before releasing suspects via bail. And then, the issue of detaining someone beyond 24 hours as specified by the law is also sensitive. The law only applies if there is a court of law of competent jurisdiction within the station’s vicinity that the accused can be taken to. What if the arrest falls on a Friday? That means the person may likely spend more than 24 hours which is not necessarily the fault of the police. The police is not always at fault whenever the bail conditions of a suspect is not fully met. There may be other constraining factors…”

He accedes however to the fact that some persons may at times have their rights violated by heady officers. “Bail is still free as specified by section 35 of the nation’s constitution and any officer who collects money to set someone on a bailable offence free would be made to face the wrath of the law he is supposed to defend. All our officers especially the Divisional Police Officers, DPO’s are regularly enlightened on this. And there are ways to seek redress even up to the force headquarters here in Abuja by anyone who feels he or she has been treated unfairly in the course of any investigation. Once there is ample proof, such persons will be attended to.”