TheCable

The house of representatives committee on police says there is a need for compensation for victims of acts of violence during demonstrations against harassment and brutality by the police.

There were protests across the country against police brutality which lasted for more than a week.

Nigerians took to the streets to call for a reform of the police force, but the protests were hijacked by hoodlums who unleashed violence on citizens.

Speaking at a meeting with Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), Usman Bello Kumo, chairman of the police committee, said the compensation should be for both police officers and citizens who lost their lives or property to the violence.

Kumo said there is a need for the police to have an inventory of the lives lost and property damaged, paying closer attention to the whole of the south-east, Zamfara and Plateau states.

“We also need an account of the list and experiences of police officers who either died or were brutalized in the violence of the last few days, besides institutional assets damaged or destroyed,” the legislator, who was accompanied by some of his colleagues, said.

The chairman also wondered why the police was not in charge of the curfew in Lagos but the army.

“Now that SARS is disbanded, what are the concrete steps towards training and professionalizing of SWAT, consistent with the planned psychological evaluation of members, and the need to develop a standard operational procedure, towards respecting citizens’ rights, while carrying out lawful activities, and how soon can we see evidence of this?,” he asked.

On his part, Adamu said they have commenced an evaluation of circumstances that led to the protests and the violence that followed thereafter.

The IGP said the police are committed to reforms and ensuring a safe environment for all to live devoid of any violation to their fundamental human rights.