A non governmental organisation Partners West Africa Nigeria PWAN has educated journalists on issues related to human rights, the Police Act 2020 and its impact on police-citizen interactions.
The PWAN Programme Officer, Hajiya Aisha Yusuf in her wellcome address during media town hall meeting in Kano said it was an important initiative to ensure that, both the public and the media understand their rights and responsibilities under the new law.
Hajiya Aisha Yusuf also explained that, the meeting was an essential step to strengthening trust, transparency, and accountability between law enforcement agencies and the community.
The town hall meeting was attended by journalists from Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara , Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa State and Civil Society Organisations CSOs.
"As part of the project’s objective, PWAN is organising this Media Townhall Meeting on Human Rights, The Police Act 2020 And Regulations. The meeting seeks to educate the public and specifically the media organizations about the Police Act 2020, its impact on police-citizen interactions, and media reporting"
"PWAN is implementing the project 'Enhancing Police Governance: Deepening Understanding of the Police Act 2020 and Regulations Across Nigeria, specifically in Kano, Plateau, Borno, Edo, Lagos, Enugu states, and the FCT"
"The Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, also known as Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN). PWAN is a non-governmental organization dedicated to enhancing citizens' participation and improving security governance in Nigeria and West Africa broadly, which we achieve through our Rule of Law, Citizens Security, and CSO strengthening Program Areas"
According to her, the town hall meeting served as an opportunity for them to unpack the critical provisions of the Police Act 2020 and its innovations.
"Explore the role of the media in fostering responsible and rights-based reporting on sensitive issues like arrests, stop-and-search, and profiling"
"Discuss actionable strategies to bridge gaps in understanding and implementation of the Act across Nigeria"
Hajiya Aisha Yusuf encouraged all the participants to actively engage in the discussions and share their perspectives, expressed confidence that, the insights and knowledge gained by the participants would empower them to head in the right direction.
She thanked the founder, the UK Integrated Security Fund of the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), for their partnership and support of the initiative.
In his presentation on the Police Act 2020 and Regulations, Barrier Sani Ammani explained some of the objectives of the Act, which included responsiveness, equity, justice and fairness.
Mr Ammani highlighted that, respect for the dignity of persons, safeguarding the fundamental rights of Nigerians, as well as cooperation and partnership between the police and communities were part of the objectives of the Act.
According to him, one of the police duties was to conduct investigations, make arrest with or without arrest warrant as well as to write statements among others.
He stressed that, it is the responsibility of the Nigerian police to protect lives and property of every person residing in Nigeria.
On her part, Hajiya Maryam Rabi'u, who spoke on the role of the media in promoting awareness of the Nigeria Police Act, said the media can conduct investigative reporting and public awareness to inform citizens about their rights.
She emphasized the need for journalist to facilitate dialogue, monitor implementation of the Act and report success stories of police officers who abide by the new Act and other related issues.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State on Community Policing, Hajiya Maryam Umar highlighted the concerted effort of the state government, police, and community members in providing security in various communities.
She explained that citizens were now reporting cases of suspected criminals, saying that, it has helped authorities to reduce crime rates in the state.
The participants who spoke with Radio Nigeria commended the PWAN for organising the worshop, saying that it would go along way in improve their work.
