Anti-Torture Act: Right Against Torture

By Ubong S. Ebong Esq. -

#Know_Your_Rights

The issue of torture and abuse of powers (especially by public officers including our law enforcement agents) is a recurring problem that needs immediate attention. To address this issue, I'll be doing a piece on a law most people don't even know about called the Anti-Torture Act.

Now this Act starts by saying that the Government has a duty to protect the rights of all persons including suspects, detainees and prisoners, and to ensure the condemnation and prohibition of all forms of torture as prescribed by all relevant laws applicable in Nigeria.

It then defines torture as any intentional act that causes mental and physical suffering/pain. Physical torture is further defined as any cruel/inhuman/degrading act that causes pain, exhaustion, disability or dysfunction of one or more parts of the body while mental torture is further defined as any cruel/inhuman/degrading act that affects or confuses the mind or undermines a person's dignity or morale.

This Act specifically mentions any form of torture done in order to: 
1) get a confession (whether by the police or anyone else),
2) or done to punish someone who has committed or is suspected to have committed an offence,
3) or acts done out of discrimination of any kind.
Public officers are also specifically mentioned and can only be exonerated if they are acting in strict compliance with the law.


Examples of what the law considers as torture are: beatings, punching, kicking, food deprivation, forced feeding with spoiled food, tying up, rape, insertion of foreign objects in the sexual organs, all forms of sexual abuse, submersion of head in water or other liquid, cigarette burning, burning with any other harmful substance, mutilation, amputation, suffocation, harmful exposure to sunlight and other elements, use of drugs, electric shocking, blindfolding etc.

Let me specially mention that jungle justice is torture. The proper thing to do is to hand over the person to the police, follow up to make sure the person is taken to court and tried, go to court and testify if need be, and certainly justice will be done as the person will be properly punished.

Victims of torture can sue for compensation under this Act while any one who commits torture is liable to imprisonment for not more than 25 years. If the torture results in death, the perpetrator(s) will be tried for murder.

I'll conclude here with these words - say no to torture. Do not be a perpetrator and if you are victim or you know someone who is a victim then please speak up. I know people will always say it's the devil that made them do it, so please report such people so that the law will cast out that devil. Every person deserves to be treated as a human being, with dignity and respect. It is your right!

#KYR



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