The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu, has called for a review and amendment of the criminal justice system administration in Nigeria.
This, according to him, would not allow victims of crime to be treated as mere witnesses when they are injured.
He said there was an urgent need to rebalance the justice rights of victims of crime insisting that.
Ikechukwu Ani Head, Press and Public Relations in a statement, said DIG Argungu spoke at the Review and Validation Workshop on the Draft Toolkit for Enhancing the Capacity of Police Oversight Bodies organized by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC held in Abuja.
The PSC Chairman noted that victims suffer pain, shock, humiliation, loss of control and powerlessness at the hands of their offenders, adding that ” if victims are injured and the offenders cannot pay reparation, it should be their right to be afforded compensation from the state/Federal government.
” It should be their right to participate in the criminal court process with legal representation to protect their safety.”
DIG Argungu also told his audience that in tackling human rights violations, the Commission “is going to pay much attention to complaints, especially in the area of abuse of law enforcement powers, particularly those of arrest, detention, interrogation as well as general treatment of suspects “.
“Issues of land matters, rent matters, marital, contractual agreements issues are purely civil matters and the complainants should be advised to go for civil suits” he advised.
PSC calls for a review, amendment of criminal justice system