Nigerian lawyers fight back against police brutality, graft

By Nneka Chile
LAGOS, Aug 13 (Reuters) - When Divine Umukoro refused to pay
police a bribe after breaking Lagos state's night-time curfew,
she says they slapped her, slashed her car tyres and threatened
violence.
A video of the incident went viral on Nigerian blogging
sites, and Citizens' Gavel, a non-profit organisation that
fights against police misconduct, stepped in, helping her to
recover her seized car within three days.
The police have declined to comment on the incident.
"When the whole thing started with the hitting, with the
slapping of my face, pushing my friend - I felt so angry,"
Umukoro, 25, said of the July 11 incident, when she acknowledged
she was out past a 10 pm curfew instituted to combat the spread
of the coronavirus.
Citizens' Gavel, founded in 2017, and the Headfort
Foundation, founded last year, aim to help marginalised
Nigerians get fair treatment from the police and the courts.
The two NGOs have handled nearly 400 cases in total so far.
International organisations such as Human Rights Watch and
Amnesty International have long accused Nigerian police of
extortion, physical attacks and other abuses, charges they deny.
Lagos police spokesman Bala Elkana said police were already
accountable, pointing to a dedicated unit that investigates
brutality accusations. He said 10 officers had been dismissed
and more than 70 punished this year alone.
But Oluyemi Orija, chief executive of the Headfort
Foundation, said that without help, poor clients can spend
months in jail for offences such as driving without a licence
because they cannot afford to pay bail or bribe the police. They
can also be coerced to confess to crimes they did not commit.
"Things can land poor people in jail for months, but a rich
person will walk into the police station, pay them and get away
with it," said Orija, a lawyer. "It is so unfortunate that young
people don't even know their rights."