Human rights lawyer/activist Femi Falana has disclosed that any policeman who slaps or assaults civilians could be jailed for at least 25 years.
Falana, a senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN spoke on the back of a statement by Muyiwa Adejobi, the Nigerian Police Force spokesperson that Nigerians have no right to retaliate against a slap from a policeman.
Adejobi said, “if a policeman on uniform slaps a civilian, the civilian has no right to retaliate. More so, if he’s on uniform, it’s an act of disrespect to Nigeria to beat an officer on uniform. The disrespect is not to the policeman but to our nation and it’s a crime as enshrined in our criminal laws.
“So it’s not a case of what the policeman did that led to it, but the reaction of the civilians who actually assaulted the police. If police assault a civilian, you report and actions will be taken to rebuke him, not to take the law into your hands.”
The comment has attracted public outrage as many insist that such could worsen police brutality in the country.
in October 2020 many Nigerians, majorly youths embarked on a violent protest against police brutality in the country that eventually led to the ban of the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SAR, an elite unit of the Nigerian Police Force,
Responding on Sunday, Falana said in a statement that slapping civilians amount to assault capable of earning the policeman who commits such an act a long jail term.
The rights lawyer said every Nigerian is entitled to human dignity, noting that law enforcement agents are prevented by the constitution from assaulting citizens.
Falana said, “Civilians are required to respect police officers who are discharging their lawful duties. The penalty for assaulting or slapping a police officer is 3 years’ imprisonment under the Criminal Code,” the statement reads.
“In the same vein, police officers are equally mandated to respect civilians. Indeed, section (2)(b) of the Anti Torture Act, 2017 states that torture is deemed committed when an act by which pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person to punish him for an act he or a third person has committed or suspected of having committed.
“The penalty for assaulting a civilian is 25 years under the Anti Torture Act of 2017. In addition, the victim may sue for monetary compensation under the Anti Torture Act and the Constitution.”
He said the Force PRO should immediately withdraw the provocative statement, which according to him “has given the misleading impression that the Nigeria Police Force has authorised its officers to slap citizens and subject them to other forms of torture without any challenge whatsoever”.
“If the statement is not withdrawn within the next 24 hours, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba, should not hesitate to replace Mr. Adejobi with another police officer who has unqualified respect for the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people.”
