A/HRC/7/3/Add.4 page 10 exercise of authority, i.e. if an officer uses any unnecessary violence on any prisoner or other persons with whom he may be brought into contact in the execution of his duty, or is uncivil to a member of the public (q) (ii). Punishments include dismissal, reduction in rank, withholding or deferment of salary rise, a reprimand, a fine, or confinement to barracks for up to 14 days. 3. Safeguards against torture and ill-treatment during arrest and detention 23. In Nigeria, police functions to arrest, detain and investigate suspects for offences vest in a myriad of law enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, the military, the State Security Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Federal Road Safety Commission, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.4 Nevertheless, in carrying out these functions, they are all governed by international, constitutional and domestic law. 24. The Constitution contains a number of safeguards for suspects: section 35 (2) allows a detainee or arrested person to remain silent until consultation with a legal practitioner and section 35 (3) guarantees the right to be informed about the facts and grounds of the arrest or detention. Section 35 (4) includes time limits and safeguards regarding imprisonment: a person who is arrested or detained shall be brought before a court within one or two days. Further, if a person is not tried within a period of two or three months he shall be released either unconditionally or upon such conditions as are necessary to ensure that he appears at trial at a later stage (sects. 35 (4) (a-b)). 25. According to section 35 (1) (f), “a person who is charged with an offence and who has been detained in lawful custody awaiting trial shall not continue to be kept in such detention for a period longer than the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence”. Section 36 contains procedural rights, including the presumption of innocence (sect. 36 (5)) and the right to a fair hearing within reasonable time before an independent and impartial tribunal in case of a charge of criminal offence (sect. 36 (1)). 26. There are a number of provisions in the Criminal Code (CC) as well as in the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which potentially safeguard the integrity of an individual arrested or detained: a person arrested shall not be exposed to unnecessary restraint, including handcuffing, unless there is a judicial order, a reasonable apprehension of violence, an attempt to escape, or the consideration of the restraint as necessary for the safety of the person arrested (CPC, sect. 4); criminal accountability of authorities using excessive use of force (CC, sect. 298); the limitation of force used in executing process or in arrest to be reasonably necessary when overcoming resistance (CC, sects. 261, 272, 273). Further potential safeguards are the obligations to take an arrested person within a reasonable time to a police station (CPC, sect. 9); to report persons arrested without warrant to the nearest magistrate (CC, sect. 20); to notify the person arrested of 4 Apart from duplication of duties, rivalry and competition for scarce resources, the proliferation of law enforcement agencies has been criticized for the establishment of parallel law enforcement regimes with the concomitant proliferation of parallel cells and detention facilities, the potential for abuse, and a challenge for adequate central oversight. See the Report of the Presidential Committee on Police Reform, May 2006, pp. 185-187.