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Leading Pro-democracy and Civil Society Group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the operatives of the Osun Police Command that on Tuesday shot The Nation Correspondent, Toba Adedeji for reportedly covering students’ protest at Orita Olaiya.
HURIWA which described the action of the Police in Osun State as an act of aggression and misplaced terrorism directed against the media said it is regrettable that the Nigeria Police force has not learnt any positive lessons from the nation-wide protests last year in which millions of Nigerians demonstrated against Police brutality, aggression and gross human rights violations.
HURIWA lamented that due to the ineffective leadership of the Police Service Commission, there is a steady spike in cases of professional misconduct, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reorganise the hierarchy of the Police Service Commission given that the current leadership has become lethargic and unproductive.
HURIWA is in the statement signed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko said it is simply an act of terrorism against media freedoms for the men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force maintained at public costs to turn their guns against media workers whose profession revolves around bringing information about the activities of government that affects the living conditions of the citizens and also monitor how the government officials are delivering on their mandates, would now be subjected to horrendous act of terrorism by the operatives of the Nigeria Police force.
HURIWA said the reason why the police operatives have continued to torture and kill journalists is because the cases that have happened in recent times were swept under the carpets just as the Rights group said the Police authority is much more concerned about covering up the evil practices of their operatives than ensuring that those who go against the law are sternly reprimanded and sanctioned in line with the due process of the law.
HURIWA said it is incumbent on the citizens of Nigeria to resist any attempt by security forces to undermine the enjoyment of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights and must at every time resist the attempt to frustrate the job of the members of the forth estate of the realm whose responsibilities are protected under Section 22 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which makes the media as the conscience of the nation and the Vanguard of good governance. HURIWA said the moment the media becomes too scared to monitor the activities of government  then democracy will die a natural death.
HURIWA blames the widespread Police impunity and lawlessness to the demise of professionalism and discipline amongst the ranks and file just as the Rights group tasked the Inspector-General of Police Alhaji Usman Alkali Baba to ensure that the police operatives comply with the Nigerian Police Act of 2020 which obliges them to adhere strictly to the due process of the law, respect fundamental human rights of the citizens and to operate within the guidelines that obliges the operatives to adhere to best global practices. HURIWA has also called for the arrest and prosecution of the police operatives that shot at the journalist.
HURIWA has therefore called on the Inspector-General of Police to investigate this act of unprovoked attack against the correspondent of The Nation Newspaprr in Osun State and to pay adequate compensation or better still the Rights group has admonished the journalist who is the victim of Police aggression and attempt on his life to seek legal redress and demand appropriate compensation from the Nigeria Police force.