Addressing the human rights abuses occassioned by the coronavirus lock down

Abstract

The security service of any nation is an integral part of the society that cannot be dispensed with, and their responsibilities in regard to securing lives and properties cannot be overemphasized. It is discouraging and an impediment to a nation when the ones that are bound to protect her citizens turn around to be a threat to their safety. This paper discusses some of the constraints on efforts to formulate comprehensive approach required to discourage human rights abuses and extra-judicial killing by Nigeria Security Operative, using the period of Coronavirus lockdown as a case study. The paper aim at emphasizing the salient point concerning lacuna created by the newly amended Nigeria Police Act and Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) on issues of human rights protection. Doctrinal method was adopted in data collection and analytical approach used in reviewing the extant laws, and judicial decision and opinion of experts on human rights abuses in text books, articles and internet source. Through research findings, the matters of extra-judicial killings by Nigeria police is slowly becoming a yearly tradition that need to be eradicated.