Legal Angles

The Police and Children in Conflict with the Law (CONCLUDING PART)
Importantly, in the handling of all cases affecting children in conflict with the law, the paramount consideration is that, the approach and method to adopt is the one which will serve the best interest of the child. Of great concern to Child’s Right advocates in Nigeria in recent time is that the manner in which juvenile offenders are handled by Law Enforcement Agencies, particularly the Police, during arrest and questioning is sadly degrading, painfully dehumanizing and indeed, constitute a flagrant violation of the Right of the Child.

Barr. Abdullahi W. Zakari

At this point, may it be quickly pointed out that during arrest and interrogation by the Police, child offenders are often verbally abused and assaulted. It is also observed that, arrest of children involves the use of threats or physical force. Sometimes too, child offenders are handcuffed and molested with impunity. There is no doubt that sometimes, juvenile offenders probably out of exuberance do in some cases question their arrest, refuse to make statement or even resist arrest thus occasioning excuses for their improper handling by the Police. Quite often too, contrary to the Law, child offenders are not informed of the reason for their arrest at the time of their arrest. Another embarrassing phenomenon is that, it seems in all cases involving children, the Police makes no differentiation in the treatment of adult and juvenile offenders.
The obvious limitation or constraints in the face of all the foregoing aberrations is that, there exist no law which specifically prescribes the way and manner children should be arrested or handled when arrested. All the same, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the dignity of human person as well as the right to personal liberty to every person including children. Precisely, Section 34 (1) (a) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman and degrading treatment. In the same vein, Section 35 (2) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution equally guarantees pretrial right of a child as a human person to remain silent and avoid answering any question until after consultation with a legal practitioner or any other person of his own choice. The Constitution also in Section 36 (6) guarantees the child’s right to be informed of the offence committed in the language he or she understands. In addition, under the provisions of the Child’s Right Act 2003, a child can only be questioned in the presence of the parents or guardians. Notably, the Criminal Procedure Laws of each state of the Federation and the Police Act contains similar provisions relating to arrest and interrogation of accused persons. It suffices to state that the foregoing constitutional and statutory provisions are mandatory requirement of law which must be followed when a child is involved in a crime.
Another area of concern relates to the question of bail as it affects children in conflicts with the law, a visit to some Police Stations or Custodial Institutions across the country presents one with a sad picture whereby children are detained with adults and subjected to equal treatments. This situation is condemnable and unlawful viewed against the backdrop of morality, public policy, the Beijing Rules and Law. Worthy of mention is that the Child’s Right Act and the Beijing Rules provides that detention pending trial should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest time possible.
Finally, the solutions to these anomalies and illegalities against child offenders rest heavily on the strict observance of all legislations and international treaties relating to the arrest, interrogation and detention of children. Essentially, the Act provides for the establishment of a specialized Police unit who are required to be continually trained and instructed specially on how to handle juvenile offenders. Again, in order to attain optimum performance of the men and officers of the Nigerian police, the welfare and the provision of facilities and modern gadgets is imperative. The need for the Nigerian Police to advert itself to the diversionary scheme options provided in the child’s Right Act may equally reduce a lot of problem that is associated with juvenile justice administration. Interestingly, section 209 of the Child’s Right Act among others, empowers the police, the prosecutor or any other person dealing with a case involving a child offender to dispose the case without resulting to the formal trial by using other means of settlement and encouraging the parties involved in the case to settle.