Pre-trial public parade of suspects

He said this was illegal. He argued that such public parade was prejudicial. Indeed, the exposure could permanently impair the reputation of an accused long after the court might have found him innocent.  Falana was therefore on solid ground when he noted that “In spite of the presumption of innocence, which inures in favour of […]

He said this was illegal. He argued that such public parade was prejudicial. Indeed, the exposure could permanently impair the reputation of an accused long after the court might have found him innocent.  Falana was therefore on solid ground when he noted that “In spite of the presumption of innocence, which inures in favour of criminal suspects by virtue of Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act, the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria have continued to expose accused persons to media trial before arraigning them in court. By subjecting suspects to media trial before arraignment in a criminal court, their fundamental rights to fair hearing and the dignity of their persons are infringed upon”.
This is an extremely important issue that the media must be aware of and take steps to guard against, even if such parades are sanctioned by the police authorities.  It is common to see graphic images in the media of people that the police accuse of committing crimes. The police would then declare that the suspects had confessed to the crimes and would soon be arraigned before the courts! Clearly, that is tantamount to presumption of guilt, which is at complete variance with the law.
 Falana was also in order when he called on the Inspector General of Police to instruct all law enforcement agencies to desist “from illegal parade and extrajudicial killing of suspects without trial”. Extrajudicial killing has been a longstanding problem with law enforcement agencies that also needs to be curtained.
 While in office, a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, is on record as ordering police units in the country to stop the practice of parading suspects while they are under investigation as required by the rule of law. If the practice has not stopped, his successor must reiterate the order and ensure that it is complied with.
 There are instances in which accused persons were paraded in public for alleged crimes only for the courts to declare them not guilty days later. What then becomes of the stigma of the initial public disgrace engendered by the parade by law enforcement officials?  Redacting the faces of such category of people, as some media houses do to hide the identity of the suspects, does not address the issue but reinforce the need to be guided by the provisions of the law and the protection of the integrity of individuals.
This of course requires that the police must thoroughly investigate crimes and potential suspects first before their arrest, via a warrant. There have been reports from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, on alleged torture and abuse of suspects in police cells and the custodial arms of other security agencies, some intended to extract confessions. A Human Rights Watch investigation in Nigeria in March 2005 found the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment by the Nigerian police to be widespread and routine.  It’s a huge challenge, but the police must show transparency in the execution of their investigative and prosecutorial duties by ensuring that justice is served.  
An enduring accusation of police personnel, particularly those in the investigations unit, is their alleged complicity in the rampant cases of missing files. Often the judicial process is stalled, or compromised, when a case goes to trial in the court, the judge would be informed that the case file could not be found.  This situation, not only makes the suspects suffer unduly by remaining in custody longer than necessary, but also helps to congest the nation’s already bloated prisons. It also smears the image of the police.