A/HRC/7/3/Add.4 page 12 misconduct are typically dealt with departmentally at first instance, internal review is without prejudice to criminal prosecution. The internal peer review, also referred to as an “orderly room trial”, is carried out by the Provost Department, which can impose various disciplinary sanctions.7 Discipline of senior officers (i.e. Assistant Superintendent of Police and above) ultimately rests with the PSC, where the IGP sets up a panel of senior officers in order to hear the case, and recommendations are forwarded to the PSC for sanctioning. 32. Complaints on human rights violations may be made in writing or orally to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Created in 1995 by a military decree, NHRC is mandated to monitor and investigate all alleged cases of human rights violations and make appropriate recommendations to the Federal Government.8 Moreover, NHRC has identified torture as well as detention centres as 2 of its 15 main thematic areas. It has appointed a Special Rapporteur on Torture, Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions and a Special Rapporteur on Police, Prison and other Detention Centres. The Special Rapporteurs carry out investigations within their mandate and report to NHRC. However, the Commission is chronically under-resourced and lacks the judicial power to enforce redress, since it only has the power to make recommendations to Government. 33. The Legal Aid Council is mandated to provide free legal assistance and advice to persons who cannot afford a lawyer. A new programme deploying lawyers to police stations and magistrate courts has been recently introduced. 5. Compensation 34. According to section 35 (6) of the Constitution any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained shall be entitled to compensation and a public apology from the appropriate authority or person. However, this clause is not applied in the case of a person arrested or detained upon reasonable suspicion of having committed a capital offence. 6. Prevention 35. The Special Rapporteur notes that there is currently no regular or systematic mechanism or activities related to independent visits to detention facilities. II. THE SITUATION OF TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT 36. The Special Rapporteur was told by government officials that torture is prohibited by law, though it may occur from time to time, in an unfortunate isolated circumstance, and that the sternest measures are taken against perpetrators, including dismissal and criminal charges. However, these observations appear divorced from the realities prevailing in criminal investigation departments (CID) and police stations in the country, at least those visited by the Special Rapporteur. In fact, at CID detention facilities, it was a challenge to find a detainee that had not been ill-treated. The high number of consistent and credible allegations received from 7 See paragraph 29 and note 5 above. 8 Human Rights Commission Act.