A right group, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption has urged police across Nigeria to tread with care while treating issues related to the vulnerable people in society.
This is coming as a ROLAC Gender Specialist, Mrs Chibogu Obinwa, expressed worries on how the vulnerable people are being treated by police in recent times. She said “ the organisation believes in human rights, especially that of women and PWDs, hence the need to look into the PDSS and see how it would assist the work of legal service providers and civil society organisations in ensuring access to justice for vulnerable people.
She, however, said the group would devise a means to intercede for women and physically challenged people who are having cases in police custody.
According to Mrs Obinwa, ROLAC and other NGOs would enhance legal aid for the vulnerable people in police custody to get justice required.
Also, Executive Director, REPLACE, Felicitas Aigbogun-Brai said that the seminar became crucial in order to get the input of people on the field in providing legal services for women, PWDs based on their knowledge and to give robust documents to the police. Adding that there is a need to change the narrative on how the police treat women and PWDs arrested.
At the meeting which was held at the Legal Aid Council Office at Ikoyi, Lagos, guidelines, and solutions were drafted on how women should be treated by police operatives at the point of arrest or detention.
Highlights of the event include group discussion on how the vulnerable people should be treated by the police and how they can access justice.
According to the organisers, they stated that reports from the group activities would serve as part of the training document for civil society organisations, the police and senior officers at the station level to spread the awareness to other officers.