The Nigeria Police authorities have been told to hasten investigations and make available to the public, its findings on the organ harvesting allegations against some ranking police officers in Anambra State, made by a whistleblower.
Recall that the whistleblower, Nnamdi Emeh had in 2023, exposed an organ trafficking ring in the Anambra State Command of the Nigeria Police Force.
He was later arrested after making the startling revelations, on trumped-up charges of being in possession of firearms, money laundering, defamation of character and unlawful transfer of N47million from someone’s account to another account.
Despite being admitted on bail by a Federal High Court in Awka, it was gathered that the whistleblower still remained incarcerated in the Nigeria Correctional Centre despite meeting his bail conditions,
Ironically, the police authorities have yet to say anything about the accused officers.
It has been nearly two years since the allegations were made.
Speaking on the development, a rights activist, Okechukwu Nwanguma regretted that despite the problems created by the ENDSARS protests which were in response to police brutality and oppression, the police hierarchy still does not take genuine concerns of the people seriously.
According to him, human rights abuses still continue to happen, despite the assurances of police authorities to do the right thing by the Nigerian people.
“From the ENDSARS protests, to allegations of organ harvesting by some operatives in Anambra, for which the IGP in response to public outrage set up an investigation which remains inconclusive, to a senior police officer’s indictments in the US for fraud and request by the US for his extradition to answer to charges, to recent cases, as outlined above, of police dabbling into civil disputes in contravention of the Police Act and offering themselves as tools for repressing freedom of expression and political dissent and settling personal scores, among other predatory and discreditable behavior, human rights remains in retreat in Nigeria despite our claims to being a democratic society,” he said.
Nwanguma observed that the Nigeria Police Act, signed into law in September 2020, aimed to transition the police from a colonial and oppressive force to a democratic, community-centered entity had some inconsistencies.
He regretted that despite the enactment of the Police Act, the subsidiary Police Regulations remain outdated and contradictory, stalling meaningful reform.
The rights activist worried that contributions made by stakeholders towards reviewing the Nigerian Police regulations, to ensure an effective Police system, are yet to be gazetted, calling for urgent action on the reviews.
“Stakeholders have put forth efforts to revise these regulations, yet they await gazetting by the Federal Ministry of Justice, further obstructing progress.
“It is imperative for the Ministry of Justice to prioritize the gazetting of the reviewed Police Regulations. This action is crucial for establishing a new legal framework that facilitates substantial police reform, promotes accountability, and enhances public trust in law enforcement. It is time for the government to commit to real change and address the systemic issues within the Nigeria Police Force,” Nwanguma posited.
