By Richards Nzemeke
Port Harcourt – The Human Rights Desk of the Police Command in Rivers says it has received 79 human rights abuse petitions from the public in the last 12 months.
The Head of the Desk, DSP Emmanuel Okwenya, told the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Thursday that some of the cases were criminal while others were civil in nature.
Okwenya said the cases bothered on rape, defilement, matrimonial violence, assault and general violence, among others, pointing out that 19 of them were now before the courts.
According to him, cases before the desk were handled with dispatch.
He said that the Rivers Commissioner of Police had directed the desk to pay unscheduled visits to police divisions and stations and that the visits had paid off.
According to him, the aim of such visits is to avoid extortion and unnecessary prolonging of detention of suspects.
Okwenya added that the aim of the unscheduled visits was also to ensure that police cells in the command were in good hygienic conditions.
He noted that such impromptu visits had kept police divisions on their toes and some Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) had been found wanting.
According to him, the establishments of the desk have reduced the abuse of people’s human rights by some police officers.
He said the desk had also been directed to write reports on its findings and submit to the commissioner on daily bases.
Okwenya said that the desk worked in cooperation with human rights organisations, the state Ministry of Social Welfare and some Non Governmental Oganisations (NGO’s), among others.
Okwenya noted that each of the 52 police divisions in the state also had a human rights desk.
He, however, said lack of finance was one of the challenges the desk faced.