PWAN Tasks Journalists, Enugu Residents On New Police Act

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A non governmental organization, Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative (PWAN), has put together a town hall meeting for media practitioners in South East Nigeria with a view to deepening their knowledge and understanding of the 2020 Nigeria police Act, and holding the personnel accountable.

The group said the programme became necessary because many citizens of the Nigeria, including Journalists are unaware of their rights under the 2020 Police Act.

Speaking during the one day media Town Hall meeting, on Human Rights, the Police Act 2020 and Regulations held in Enugu on Thursday, Executive Director, of PWAN, Ms. Kemi Okenyodo, said the programme is designed so keep the participants abreast with the new current police Act.

Ms Okenyodo, who spoke through the monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the organization, Mrs. Nkem Okereke, noted that there is a significant disconnect between police operations and community expectations.

She posited that the problems have been exacerbated by a lack of comprehensive understanding and inconsistent implementation of policing laws among the officers and management of the Nigerian police force NPF.

The PWAN boss, added that to address the problem, PWAN with support from the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) is implementing the project “Enhancing Police Governance: Deepening Understanding of the Police Act 2020 and Regulations across the six geopolitical zones of the country; specifically in Kano, Plateau, Lagos, Edo, Enugu, Borno, and the FCT.

She explained further that the project seeks to address critical gaps in the understanding and application of the Police Act 2020 and the accompanying regulations within the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).

According to her, PWAN, aims to achieve this through capacity building for senior police officers, sensitization of the public on the provisions of the Act, and media town hall meetings on the provisions of the Act and media sensitization.

She said: “This will improve the knowledge of the police officers and citizens of recent changes and reforms within the police force and further improve human rights application as contained in the Act.

“Through the town hall meeting today which is specifically for the media houses and journalists, we aim to promote awareness of citizens’ rights under the Police Act 2020, allowing us to address the gap in public knowledge regarding human rights and the provisions of the Police Act 2020.

“Many citizens remain unaware of their rights under the Act, and as a result, may lack the confidence to hold the police accountable for misconduct or abuses of power.

“In today’s session, we will cover key aspects of the provisions of the Police Act 2020, and police regulations, all of which are important to creating a transparent and accountable relationship between the police and the communities they serve.

“We will also have a panel discussion on media reporting and how the media can mainstream the police Act 2020, especially in the reporting of regular issues like arrest and other common issues of concern.

She explained that it is against the backdrop of getting desired result that the organization decided to engaged seasoned facilitators who are conversant with the subject matter, and urged journalists to voice their thoughts, ask questions, and participate actively in the session.

The PWAN leader, disclosed that the NGO is a women-led non-governmental organization dedicated to enhancing citizens’ participation and improving security governance in Nigeria and West Africa broadly.

“This, we achieve through our Rule of Law, Citizens Security, and CSO strengthening Program Areas.

“The organization does this through research, collaborative advocacy, capacity building, dissemination of information and integrating implementation of government policies such as United Nations Resolution 1325.

Others are, Women Peace and Security Second Generation National Action Plan ( NAP2), Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism National Action Plan (P/CVE NAP), Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law (ACJA/L), UN Resolution 2250 amongst others which are complementary to our strategic Objectives.

“Historically, Nigeria has faced systemic issues in its policing, characterized by allegations of corruption, misuse of power, and” she stated.

Comrade Okechukwu Nwanguma of Rule of law and Accountability Advocacy Centre RULAAC, Lagos, who made a presentation on the new police Act, harped on the need for media practitioners to be acquainted with the Act so, as to help in sensitizing members of the public.