HURIWA urges NASS to probe police recruitment

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

Human Rights Writer Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has charged the National Assembly to probe the recruitment process of the Police Force.

 HURIWA’s National Coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement yesterday claimed that people with questionable characters were being recruited into the Force.

 “HURIWA called upon the National Assembly to launch a comprehensive investigation into the alleged recruitment of known criminals into the Police Force. 

 “The organisation argued that such an inquiry is indispensable for upholding the integrity of law enforcement agencies and restoring public trust in the security apparatus,” he said. 

 Onwubiko noted that the call became expedient following the alleged unholy attitude of one Muhammadu Sani Dalhatu who has been disturbing Kagargo in Kaduna State and has become a police recruit.

 He said he got a petition from Y. C. Maikyau & Co. on behalf of two detained individuals, Mustapha Buhari Aliyu and Aliyu Buhari Aliyu, on the behest of Dalhatu.

 “The petition outlines alarming allegations of intimidation, harassment, and malicious instigation of arrest against Muhammadu Sani Dalhatu, alias Abacha, a figure with a contentious reputation within the community,” he said.

 According to the petition, Dalhatu allegedly threatened the father of the Aliyu brothers, prompting forceful and unexplained detention by individuals suspected to be from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigerian Police Force.

 “The petition detailed the sequence of events leading to the brothers’ detention, highlighting the lack of official identification, disclosure of alleged offenses, or presentation of warrants by the arresting officers. 

 “Despite persistent efforts by legal representatives to secure the release of Mustapha and Aliyu, the police reportedly rebuffed their requests, unjustly labeling the young men as ‘criminal kidnappers.’

“Y. C. Maikyau & Co. emphasised the presumption of innocence and the constitutional right to personal liberty, urging the immediate release of their clients or their fair and prompt trial by due process,” he said.