Chairman of the Police Service Commission(PSC), DIG Hashimu Argungu, has called for a review of the criminal justice system administration in Nigeria to ensure that victims of crime receive dignity, compassion and justice.
Argungu said this has become necessary to rebalance justice rights for victims, who often suffer pain, shock, humiliation, loss of control, and powerlessness in the hands of their offenders.
The PSC chair said this at the Review and Validation Workshop on the Draft Toolkit for Enhancing the Capacity of Police Oversight Bodies in Abuja, organized by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
“If victims are injured and the offenders cannot pay reparation, it should be their right to be afforded compensation from the state/Federal government.
“It should be their right to participate in the criminal court process with legal representation to protect their safety,” the PSC boss said, adding that in tackling human rights violations, the Commission “is going to pay much attention to complaints pertaining to human rights violations and in the area of abuse of law enforcement powers, particularly those of arrest, detention, interrogation as well as general treatment of suspects.”
According to him, the jurisdiction of the Police “in the area of public wrongs not private wrongs will be upheld” while civil matters and tortious liabilities belong in the court.
“Issues of land, rent, marital and contractual agreement matters are purely civil matters and the complainants should be advised to go to civil suits,” Argungu surmised.
