29-year-old Sues Police Over Fractured Neck, Punctured Eardrum Suffered While In Detention

While in Kirikiri prison, he suffered various degrees of injury that included a fractured neck and punctured eardrum.

Police announce six new steps to reform SARS

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered members of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to wear police uniforms with full identification, pending the launch of new FSARS uniform.
The force spokesman, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jimoh Moshood, said in a statement in Abuja on Friday that Mr Idris gave the order at a meeting with critical stakeholders.
Mr Moshood said that Mr Idris was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of police in charge of operations, Habila Joshak.
He said that the meeting was convened to brief the stakeholders on the progress made so far in the overhaul of the SARS now known as Federal SARS.
The police boss said that the overhaul of SARS was beyond rhetoric as strategic reforms were being implemented.
He said that the FSARS operatives had been ordered to desist from attending to civil or commercial matters henceforth and focus strictly on armed robbery and kidnapping cases only.
According to Mr Moshood, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Habiru Gwandu, informed the meeting that a human rights desk had been created in the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
He said that the desks would address cases of infractions against members of the public by FSARS personnel across the nation.
Mr Gwandu added that the police had engaged the services of psychologists and counsellors in the ongoing screening of FSARS operatives.
On his part, the DCP in charge of the I-G’s X-Squad, Amaechi Elumelu, said in the statement that the screening and mobilisation of FSARS operatives would not be business as usual again.

He said that FSARS operatives would undergo through rigorous orientation including human rights training among other screening processes.
Mr Elumelu said that the I-G would soon unveil the Custody Records Management System.
He explained that this system would contain the records of arrests, detentions and welfare details of suspects.
The commissioner said that this system would discourage arbitrary arrest of people and ensure that suspects were charged to court within 24 hours, in compliance with the law.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on August 14, directed the immediate overhaul of the SARS.
CREDIT : (NAN)

Ugandan Police surround homes of opposition members

Ugandan police have surrounded the homes of several opposition politicians and lawyers after receiving what a police spokesman said was information that they would “incite people to riot” over a court hearing for a detained opposition lawmaker.

The detention of lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi and four other politicians critical of President Yoweri Museveni triggered two days of anti-government demonstrations in the capital Kampala and other parts of the country this week.

Kyagulanyi attended a military court hearing in the northern town of Gulu on Thursday.

Ugandan police spokesman Emilian Kayima said that the opposition leaders whose homes were surrounded had been placed under “preventative arrest” to try to prevent further unrest.

“We have intelligence reports that these leaders were inciting people to riot yet they have other lawful avenues, like petitioning a higher court, to seek redress about their fate of their colleague,” Kayima told Reuters.

“We don’t want to experience what we went through on Monday,” he said, referring to a demonstration in Kampala at which Ugandan police fired tear gas and military units were deployed to disperse protesters.

Representatives of several prominent opposition politicians said on social media they had been prevented from leaving home. An aide to one of the politicians, Kizza Besigye, who contested and lost four elections against Museveni, said on Facebook that Besigye had planned to attend Kyagulanyi’s court appearance.

Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-lawmaker who goes by the stage name Bobi Wine, and the four other lawmakers were arrested on Aug. 13 on suspicion of involvement in the stoning of a presidential convoy during a parliamentary by-election campaign.

Kyagulanyi was charged on Aug. 16 with unlawful possession of weapons and ammunition while three other lawmakers and dozens of other people were charged with treason.

The musician, whose songs are stingingly critical of Museveni’s government, has a large youth following. He entered parliament last year.

CREDIT : NAN