The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Usaini Gumel, on Tuesday warned Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the state against detaining suspects for more than 48 hours without bail or charging them to court.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). reports that Gumel handed over the warning while on a visit to some police divisions within Kano metropolis.
He said detaining suspects beyond 24 hours before taking them to court for prosecution amounted to to violation of their rights because they were still presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent court.
The commissioner of police also reminded the DPOs that bailing suspects was free.
He urged them to always ensure the fundamental human rights of suspects at all times and avoid actions capable of jeopardising their welfare and well-being.
CP Gumel was accompanied by representatives from the Correctional Centre, the National Human Rights Commission, the judiciary, the Office of the State Attorney General, and some civil society organizations.
He said the unscheduled visit to police formations was in line with the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme (PDSS), launched in December 2023.
According to the police boss, “all sectors of society would want to see what the police are doing in terms of access to justice.
There was a marching order by the IGP to all commissioners of police to launch the PDSS to ensure fundamental human rights, access to justice, and free legal services.
“We are determined to make the practical aspect of the PDSS. We have moved around a number of police stations within the metropolis and interacted with detainees.
”We went to Zango, Fagge, and Sharada police divisions and the Correctional Center at Janguza. We toured the facilities there, including the court inside the correctional center handling special cases.
“Our intention is to keep visiting all the police stations. The visit is unscheduled. We did not inform them that we were coming because we wanted to see things for ourselves.
”During the visits, I drummed it into the ears of the DPOs that bail is free as long as the suspect fulfills all the bail conditions.
”I also informed them that detainees are not supposed to stay more than 48 hours in the cell without bail or charging them to court.”( NAN)
