Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, has condemned the recent arrest and subsequent parade of the National Commandant of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, Mr Dickson Akor, by the Nigerian Police.
After securing the release of Mr Akor, Mr Falana told journalists that the police invasion of the headquarters of the Peace Corps of Nigeria was illegal and unconstitutional.
The human rights activist said he was also negotiating for the re-opening of the office of the Peace Corps of Nigeria.
“They must be allowed to operate under the law and we will get to that state where the police will appreciate that Nigeria is under-policed.
“We need volunteers, young men and women who should be organised by the state to handle those duties that will not require the intervention of the police,” he added.
Furthermore, he emphasised that acts of terrorism, herdsmen attack, armed robbery and kidnapping, have remained because the nation has been under-policed.
“As at 2011, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to engage the services of 380,000 police personnel, between then and now, only 10, 000 are being employed.
“There is no way you can police about 180 million people with barely 380, 000 police personnel out of which about 120, 000 are guarding the elite and corporate bodies in the country.
“I thought the police should have embraced a body like the Peace Corps of Nigeria to make their job easier because the Nigerian Police operate under very difficult situations.
“Most communities are not policed, so herdsmen move into farms and kill people.
“Nigerians have not developed a litigation culture of challenging the killing of every citizen either directly or indirectly for which the government can be blamed,” the lawyer stressed.
The Public Relations Officer of the Corp, Milicent Umaru, had earlier confirmed that the National Commandant and 47 other officers were arrested at exactly 11:59 pm on Tuesday, without a warrant of arrest and without providing any reason for the raid.
Members of Corp also alleged that the raid left three of their personnel critically injured.
The incident followed the commissioning of the Peace Corp headquaters, also on Tuesday, by the Minister of Youth and Sports.
