Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has urged the 20 suspects paraded by the police in the aftermath of the Ile-Ife clash and members of the Peace Corps of Nigeria to separately sue the federal government for aggravated damages.
Falana said the media parade of the suspects by the police infringed on their fundamental rights, and that it also violated the principle of presumption of innocence until proved guilty.
The rights lawyer said alleged criminal suspects often paraded were poor while rich people who steal billions of naira from the treasury were not.
He urged the attorney-general of the federation to direct law enforcement agencies to desist from parading criminal suspects.
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“Although the courts have repeatedly cautioned the law enforcement agencies to desist from parading criminal suspects before the media the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris has justified the illegal practice.
“It was a defence which smacks of official impunity and insensitivity,” he said in an article.
“Notwithstanding that such media parade is prejudicial to the fundamental right of criminal suspects to fair hearing the ruling class has not stopped it because it is part of the humiliation of lowly placed citizens.
“Hence, while it is not unusual to parade poor criminal suspects who are accused of stealing handsets whose value is less than N10,000 it is infra dignitate to parade rich and powerful criminal suspects who loot the treasury to the tune of several billions of naira.”
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