Police CRU slams suspect parading unconstitutional ‘media trial’ ‘media trial’
Police
Abdullateef Fowewe
CSP Anthony Iniedu, Head of the Nigeria Police Force’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU), has publicly criticised the routine parading of suspects before media cameras, declaring it a violation of constitutional rights and a barrier to fair trials.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Iniedu invoked Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution, stating, “Every person charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty.”
“PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE. Parading suspects before cameras labels them as criminals BEFORE any trial. That is prejudging & its unconstitutional,” he wrote, emphasising how the practice undermines the right to a fair hearing.
Iniedu expanded his argument by citing Section 34, which protects human dignity, and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 prohibiting degrading treatment.
He described public parading as a “media trial” that equates to “regulated lynching,” causing irreversible reputational damage even if suspects are later exonerated.
Drawing on global norms, he referenced Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which safeguard presumption of innocence and prohibit public shaming.
The thread gained traction amid outrage over a viral video from April 4, showing officers at Lagos’ Satellite Town Division allegedly harassing young people during a stop-and-search operation and trying to confiscate phones.
Notably, the implicated officers were investigated internally without their faces exposed, prompting accusations of double standards from online critics who pointed to frequent police parades of civilian suspects.
