The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr Usaini Gumel, on Tuesday warned Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) within the state in opposition to detaining suspects for greater than 48 hours with out bail or charging them to court docket.
Gumel, who insisted that bail is free, handed over the warning whereas on go to to some police divisions inside Kano metropolis.
He stated detaining suspects past 48 hours earlier than taking them to court docket for prosecution amounted to violation of their rights as a result of they had been nonetheless presumed harmless till discovered responsible by a reliable court docket.
The commissioner of police additionally reminded the DPOs that bailing of suspects was free.
He urged them to at all times guarantee the basic human rights of suspects always, and keep away from actions able to jeopardising their welfare and well-being.
CP Gumel was accompanied by representatives from the Correctional Centre, Nationwide Human Rights Fee, the judiciary, Workplace of the State Legal professional Common, and a few civil society organizations.
He stated the unscheduled go to to police formations was in step with the Police Obligation Solicitors Scheme (PDSS) launched in December 2023, NAN experiences.
In keeping with the Police boss: “All sectors of the society would need to see what the police are doing when it comes to entry to justice.
“There was a marching order by the IGP to all commissioners of police to launch the PDSS to make sure elementary human rights, entry to justice and free authorized companies.
“We’re decided to make the sensible side of the PDSS. We’ve got moved spherical quite a few police stations inside the metropolis and interacted with detainees.
”We went to Zango, Fagge, Sharada police divisions and the Correctional Centre at Janguza. We toured the services there, together with the court docket contained in the Correctional Centre dealing with particular circumstances.
“Our intention is to maintain visiting all of the police stations. The go to is unscheduled . We didn’t inform them that we had been coming, as a result of we need to see issues for ourselves.
”Through the visits, I drummed it into the ears of the DPOs that bail is free so long as the suspect fulfills all of the bail circumstances.
”I additionally knowledgeable them that detainees are usually not supposed to remain greater than 48 hours within the cell with out bail or charging them to court docket.”
