By Agbafo Ijeoma
Human rights lawyer, Mr Hamza Dantani, has urged security agencies across Nigeria to emulate the Department of State Services (DSS) by compensating citizens who are wrongly arrested, detained or injured during security operations.
Dantani made the call in a statement titled “DSS Compensation Initiative Sets Standard for Security Agencies”, where he commended the DSS Director-General, Mr Oluwatosin Ajayi, for introducing the compensation policy. He described the initiative as a major step towards institutional accountability and the protection of fundamental human rights.
The lawyer cited cases of victims who received compensation after being wrongly arrested or harmed during security operations. They included a Kaduna farmer and herder who received N3 million after being wrongly linked to Boko Haram, an Abuja businesswoman awarded N10 million following her wrongful arrest, and a Sokoto trader who received N20 million and lifetime medical care after being mistakenly shot.
Dantani said wrongful arrests and unlawful detention could cause financial losses, emotional trauma and reputational damage, stressing that compensation was an important acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the state. He maintained that national security efforts must be pursued without undermining citizens’ constitutional rights.
He urged the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to establish similar compensation frameworks. Dantani also called for improved intelligence gathering, forensic investigations, identity verification, human rights training for personnel and independent complaint mechanisms to prevent operational errors.
