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Criminal Torture And The Nigeria Police Cell System In The Criminal Investigation Process In Nigeria
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From
the foregoing definitions, the essential principles or elements for any
system to qualify as democracy are many. In other words certain
elements must co-exist for a political system to be called a democracy.
Several views abound and shall be considered. Buhlman et al identified
equality, freedom and control as the key principles or elements of
democracy. They opined thus, “we define freedom, equality and control as
the three core principles of democracy.
To qualify as a democracy, a
given political system has to guarantee freedom and equality. Moreover,
it has to optimize the interdependence between these two principles by
means of control. Control is understood as control by the government as
well as control of the government.[18]
Linz and Stepan[19] argues
that for a democracy to be consolidated, five interrelated conditions
must exist, that is to say: free and lively civil society, a relatively
autonomous and valued political society, the rule of law to guarantee
citizen‟s freedom and independent associational life, functioning state
bureaucracy which can be use by the democratic government and an
institutions analyzed economic society. In his own contribution,
Professor Eteng posits that genuine democracy is obviously inconceivable
today without the following structures and elementary forms: free and
fair election completely bereft of money driven, zero-sum, macabre prone
electoral process, truly representative government drawn not from
ethno-religious constituencies but rather more or less from various
occupational groups, an independent judiciary, a vibrant civil society
comprising organized labour, professional bodies, pro democracy and
human rights organization a free and unfettered press and finally a
people oriented economy.[20]
The Inter-Parliamentary Council, the plenary governing body of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union in its 161st conference held in Cairo Egypt on 16th September 1997 adopted the Universal
Declaration on Democracy and asserted as follows:
A
state of democracy ensures that the processes by which power is acceded
to, wielded and alternates allow for free political completion and are
the product of open, free and non-
discriminatory participation by
the people, exercised in accordance with the rule of law, in both letter
and spirit…. As an ideal, democracy aims essentially to preserve and
promote the dignity and fundamental rights of the individual, to achieve
social justice, faster the economic and social development of the
community, strengthen the cohesion of society and enhance national
tranquility.
The Council maintained that democracy must be based on
existence of a well structured and functioning institutions as well as a
body of standards operated on the will of the society with rights and
responsibilities. It is founded on the right of everyone to take part in
the management of public affairs through the holding of free and fair
elections at regular intervals. To achieve this, civil and political
rights are essential, and more particular among them, the right to vote
and be voted for, the right to freedom of expression and assembly,
access to information and the right to organize political activities.
Public accountability applies to all who hold public office and
independent judicial institutions with effective oversight. Mechanisms
are equally required to give efficacy to the doctrines of the rule of
law.[21]
1.1 Statement of the Problem
Policing a democratic
state entails the ideals of the rule of law and human rights as its core
principles. The rule of law emphasizes the need for all persons and
institutions including law enforcement agencies (police) to be
responsive to the tenets of all democratic laws that are consistent with
human rights standards. These standards have assumed universal
acceptance to the extent that there is a duty imposed on law enforcement
officials to, at all times respect and obey the law, protect all
persons against illegal acts and protect human dignity and maintain and
uphold the human rights of all.
The constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in line with international norms and
obligations contains human rights provisions to protect the rights of
citizens. The constitution also established the Nigeria Police Force
with the statutory duty of maintaining law and order. This duty must
however conform to standard best practices that reflect the tenets of
the rule of law and human rights observance. Unfortunately, the overall
performance of the police in Nigeria leaves much to be desired. The
force appears more adept to paramilitary operations, anti democratic
tendencies and abuse of police powers. Incessant abuses such as
arbitrary arrest, illegal detention, torture, inhuman and other
degrading treatment as well as extra judicial killings are common place.
Besides, democratic policing attributes like the rule of law,
accountability, responsive/representative policing and respect for human
rights are essentially lacking. The shortfall stems from the lapses in
the Police Act and the inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the overall
operation and execution of policing generally which if critically viewed
together do not help to create a police force that respect the rights
of citizens as guaranteed under the constitution and other international
human rights conventions which
Nigeria has signed and ratified.
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