By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja
A legal practitioner and human rights advocate, Hamza Dantani, has called on security agencies, including the Police, Army and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to adopt the Department of State Services (DSS) policy of compensating innocent citizens wrongly arrested, detained or injured during security operations.
In a statement titled “DSS Compensation Initiative Sets Standard for Security Agencies,” Dantani praised the Director-General of the DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, for introducing compensation for victims of wrongful arrests, describing the initiative as a major step towards accountability.
“This is a bold, commendable and unprecedented gesture that deserves national recognition,” he said. “While security agencies have a constitutional responsibility to protect the nation, they also have a moral and legal obligation to acknowledge mistakes and provide remedies to innocent citizens whose rights have been violated.”
He stressed that the fight against terrorism, banditry and other crimes must respect the rule of law and fundamental human rights.
“The pursuit of security must never come at the expense of justice. National security and respect for fundamental human rights are complementary principles that strengthen one another,” Dantani added.
The lawyer said the DSS had shown that admitting and correcting operational mistakes could strengthen public trust, noting that several victims of wrongful arrests and operations had already received compensation.
He urged the Police, Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), EFCC, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security agencies to institutionalise similar compensation mechanisms and implement reforms to reduce wrongful arrests through improved intelligence, better investigations and stronger human rights compliance.
“An arrest should never be treated as punishment, and detention should never become a substitute for proper investigation,” he said.
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