NATIONAL REPORT 2016 Torture and ill-treatment in NIGERIA Torture remains a subject of major concern in Nigeria. The most frequent perpetrators of torture are operatives of the security and law enforcement agencies including the police, the military, the state security service, and agents of paramilitary institutions such as prison officers, officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. These acts are usually perpetrated before official detention, after which, the victims are detained by the security agency involved or transferred to the prisons. The primary objective for such acts is the extraction of information from the victims. Sadly, in some instances, torture is also utilised as a system of punishment, in which individuals with better access to economic resources use agents of the state as instruments of intimidation or coercion. Consequently, in recent times, the incidents of torture perpetrated by non-state actors, either directly or through state agents, has also become a highly worrisome phenomenon. Rights Training Programme within the Force. The initiative aims to uphold the culture of effective human rights protection within the NPF and seeks to ensure the establishment of effective internal and external oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, there are several agencies with the power to arrest and detain in Nigeria. Each of these agencies have detention facilities within which acts of torture may take place. In response to the recommendations of the 2013 Universal Periodic Review of Nigeria, in July and October 2015 respectively, representatives of such agencies convened to deliberate on various means of ensuring efficiency in service delivery through inter-agency collaboration and coordination. One of the primary outputs of this initiative is the commencement of plans for the development of a national database for all detention facilities within the Nigerian federation. The availability of information on existing detention facilities in Nigeria will ease access to such facilities for monitoring visits and torture documentation. Supporters of PRAWA signing up to fighting torture and impunity on the ocassion of the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims, 26 June. © courtesy of PRAWA Section 34(1)(a) of the Nigerian Constitution upholds the right to dignity of the human person, and Section 28(a) of the Nigerian Evidence Act 2011 (as amended) renders inadmissible confessional state¬ments obtained ‘by oppression of the person who made it’. Nonetheless, these laws are inadequate to protect persons against torture and to ensure effective redress in the event of any contravention. To address this gap, the Nigerian National Assembly passed a new bill in June 2015 to criminalise torture. The Bill, commonly known as the Torture (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, is now awaiting signature by President Buhari. Recognising the impact of their officers’ individuals actions on the image of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) the NPF commenced the implementation of a five-year (2015-2020) Strategic Plan aimed at the effective integration of a Human page 5