At least 70 journalists from Nigeria’s Northwest region have undergone training on the Police Act 2020 and its implications for police-citizen relations and media reporting.
The training, held at R&K Guest Palace, Magani Rufa, Nasarawa Kano, was organized by Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN) with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.
In her opening remarks, PWAN Programme Manager, Hajiya Aisha Yusuf, highlighted the organization’s commitment to fostering better police governance through the project “Enhancing Police Governance: Deepening Understanding of the Police Act 2020 and Regulations Across Nigeria.”
The initiative is being implemented in the states of Kano, Plateau, Borno, Edo, Lagos, Enugu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said: “The project aims to enhance the understanding and implementation of the Police Act 2020 and its associated regulations among the Nigerian Police Management Team and the broader public, thereby fostering more informed, effective, community members.”
The programme manager told the participants that “PWAN is pleased to invite you to a media town hall meeting to educate the public and specifically the media organizations about the Police Act 2020, its impact on police-citizen interactions and media reporting.
“This is an important initiative to ensure that both the public and the media understand their rights and responsibilities under the new law, as well as the expected conduct of police officers”.
Hajiya Aisha Yusuf maintained that the meeting is an essential step to strengthening trust, transparency, and accountability between law enforcement and the community.
The event brought together media representatives from across the Northwestern states, including Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara, representing radio, TV, print, and social media platforms.
She added that the training will be focused on educating the media about the provisions of the Police Act 2020 and its connection to human rights, particularly in police-citizen interactions and the discussions covered critical issues such as arrest, stop and search procedures, profiling, and other related topics, highlighting the media’s role in enhancing transparency, accountability, and trust between the Police Force and the public.
“This engagement marks a significant step toward integrating the Police Act 2020 into media reporting, ensuring that human rights and accountability are at the forefront of law enforcement narratives in the Northwestern region.
“We bring you greetings from The Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, also known as Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN). PWAN is a non-governmental organization dedicated to enhancing citizens’ participation and improving security governance in Nigeria and West Africa broadly, which we achieve through our Rule of Law, Citizens Security, and CSO strengthening Program Areas.
She emphasises that the organization does this through research, collaborative advocacy, capacity building, dissemination of information and integrating implementation of government policies such as United Nations Resolution 1325, Women Peace and Security Second Generation National Action Plan (NAP2), Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism National Action Plan (P/CVE NAP), Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law (ACJA/L), UN Resolution 2250 amongst others which are complementary to our strategic Objectives.
Also speaking the Special Adviser to the Kano State Governor on Community Policing, Hajiya Maryam Umar expressed the importance and the need for good and cordial working relations between the police and hosting communities.
Hajiya Maryam added: “Good understanding and hormonal relationships are the best and easiest process in providing effective peace and security.
Presenting his paper on the Police Act 2020 and Regulations one of the resource persons, Barrier Sani Ammani highlighted some of the objectives of the 2020 Police Act, saying it contained responsiveness, equity, justice, and fairness.
The resource person in the paper emphasises the need to respect the dignity of persons, safeguarding the fundamental rights of Nigerians, as well as cooperation and partnership between the police and communities as contained in the Act.
According to him, one of the police duties was to conduct investigations, make arrests with or without arrest warrants, and write statements, among other things.
He stressed that it is the responsibility of the Nigerian police to protect the lives and property of every person residing in Nigeria.
On her part, Hajiya Maryam Rabi’u, who spoke on the role of the media in promoting awareness of the Nigeria Police Act, said the press can conduct investigative reporting and public awareness to inform citizens about their rights.
She emphasised the need for journalists to facilitate dialogue, monitor the implementation of the Act, and report success stories of police officers who abide by the new Act and other related issues.
