BEING WELCOME ADDRESS OF IGP SOLOMON ARASE,NPM, fdc AT THE INAUGURAL ANNUALPOLICE LAWYERS CONFERENCE AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE OFFICERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION (NBA) POLICE LAWYERS FORUMAT TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA ON 25TH MAY 2016
Protocol,
I stand before you my learned and professional colleagues, with a deep sense of fulfilment to present this welcome address at this all important Annual Police Lawyer’s Conference and the inauguration of the Officers and Council Members of the NBA Police Lawyers Forum and Award Night for deserving Police lawyers. This is the first of its kind in the history of the Nigeria Police Force.
2. When I assumed office as the 18th Inspector-General of Police in April, 2015, I worked with the Police Management Team and critical stake holding partners to initiate a policing strategy consisting of six (6) thematic areas covering Anti-Corruption Drive; Human Rights driven Policing policy; Intelligence-led policing and Community Partnership; Case Diversion, Fast Track Trials and Restorative Justice; Human Capacity Development; and Engagement of cutting edge technology and best international practices to policing.
3. In all these, ladies and gentlemen, Human Rights remained at the centre. This is not just because of the imperative to have a Police force that embodies the values of fairness, justice and equity, but also because policing in a democratic society requires accountability which is indeed demanded for by an enlightened and diverse citizenry. This conference was initiated with this realisation in mind.
4. My dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, we have achieved modest progress in the key milestones of the strategic plan and today’s event which is aimed at enhancing the capacity of Police lawyers who occupy a central role in the Administration of Criminal Justice Sector, advances our objectives. It is acknowledged worldwide that Lawyers are “ministers in the temple of Justice”. But my experience has shown that the over five hundred (500) lawyers in the employment of the Nigeria Police have not fully assumed this responsibility.
5. It is the statutory function of the Police to prevent crime but only preventive strategies cast in concrete are breach proof. We all know that it is impossible to cast our preventive strategies in concrete therefore, offending members of our society must be brought to justice.
6. It remains the responsibility of police lawyers to guide investigators in the gathering, preservation and presentation of evidence as well as ensuring respect for the rights of persons who become the subject of police preventive and investigative procedures, be they suspects or witnesses of crime. The inability of Police lawyers to effectively assume this strategic role in the Policing space has immensely contributed to the high rate of failure of investigation and prosecution of cases. This negates my vision for a policing system that guarantees Equity, Fairness and Justice.
7. The situation in the Civil Justice Sector presents another daunting challenge as civil actions against the Police are either not defended or poorly defended resulting in the award of damages and eventual garnisheeing of Police accounts. My last count shows that over N1.9 Billion of Police Funds in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is being garnisheed. If this situation is not urgently addressed, the Police may not be able to perform its functions as the limited budgetary allocations will be needlessly lost to garnishee actions.
8. Given the institutional challenges the police as a key player in the criminal justice sector faces, reinvigorating the capacity of Police Lawyers by creating a unique platform where they can network and deepen their knowledge and skills has become imperative, especially in the light of the recent passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
9. I commenced the realisation of this vision by the construction of a legal building with a state of the art legal library and facilities considered to be one of the best in Nigeria today. Though this building provides a conducive environment for lawyers working in the Legal Section, the building alone without systematic training of the lawyers and attitudinal change that will bridge this competency gap will not achieve the desired goal. This informed my thinking that apart from the regular training of lawyers already introduced by my administration, an annual Conference for Police lawyers in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association needs be emplaced to review and discuss current issues and trends in the legal profession. This is with a view to aligning the practice of Nigeria Police lawyers to current trends as a conscious way of strengthening their strategic roles within the criminal justice administration system.
10. In specific terms, the objectives of the Inspector-General of Police in convening the annual Police lawyer’s conference include:
(i) To assemble erudite scholars of law, experienced judicial officers and knowledgeable retired or servings police officers gifted in the area of investigations and prosecution of cases to lecture Police lawyers on advocacy and legal drafting skills to guaranty speedy administration of justice.
(ii) Highlight approaches that support systematic collection, preservation and presentation of evidence in court to enhance successes in the prosecution of criminal cases.
(iii) To entrench the principles of fundamental human rights values in Nigeria statutes books and other international human rights instruments on police lawyers to usher a culture of policing rooted in respect for the rights of the citizens.
(iv) To reduce conducts and practices that result in suits against the police and imbibe in them the culture of effective and efficient strategies in the defence of civil causes and actions against the police wherever they occur to reduce financial loses occasioned by the garnisheeing of Police accounts.
(v) To keep Police lawyers abreast of the key provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, especially the entrenchment of a culture of criminal justice system that ensures justice for the defendant, the victim of crime and the state.
(vi) To foster a closer working relationship between the Bar, the Bench and the Police Legal Section.
11. This year’s conference is unique in the sense that it combines the inauguration of the first set of Officers and Council Members of the NBA Police Lawyers Forum with a dinner/award night for deserving members of Police lawyers who have contributed in one way or the other to the evolution of the Nigeria Police Legal Section.
12. It is my belief that this strategic approach aimed at re-invigorating the legal section will be sustained as it will emplace a legal section that ensures a pride of place for Police lawyers, a Legal section that is the envy of every police lawyer, and a legal section where Police lawyers are eager and desirous to work.
13. My learned brothers and colleagues, I am not unaware of the numerous challenges you face as lawyers in the legal section. I am however hopeful that with the change mantra of the current administration and what the Force has done in the legal section since my assumption of office, the sun will soon shine in the legal section of the Nigeria Police Force. I therefore urge you to make the best of this opportunity by actively participating in the conference and demonstrate the determination to act as change agents that will alter the professional fortune of the Nigeria Police Legal Section.
14. It is on this note that I welcome you all to this landmark engagement and I wish you all rewarding deliberations. I thank you and pray for God’s guidance as we jointly march towards evolving a Police Force that will be driven by rule of law tenets and motivated to excel in its criminal justice delivery Mandate.
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