Lawyer urges police, EFCC, Army to adopt DSS compensation model

Legal expert Hamza Dantani has called upon Nigerian security agencies, including the police, army, EFCC, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, to emulate the Department of State Services' (DSS) approach to compensating innocent citizens wrongfully arrested, detained, or injured during security operations. Dantani praised the DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, for the bold and unprecedented compensation policy, which sets a new standard for the security sector.

He emphasized that while security agencies have a duty to protect the nation, they also bear the legal and moral responsibility to acknowledge mistakes and provide remedies for the victims whose rights have been violated. Dantani highlighted several cases where innocent individuals received compensation, such as Nura Idris, Chineze Ozoadibe, and several others.

He urged all law enforcement bodies to adopt similar measures, citing reforms like improved intelligence gathering, identity verification, forensic investigations, inter-agency collaboration, and human rights training as essential steps to prevent wrongful arrests. Dantani expressed hope that the DSS's initiative would mark the beginning of a new era of accountability and respect for constitutional rights among all security agencies in Nigeria.