Kano Police Duty Solicitors Committee Asks DPOs To Inscribe “Bail Is Free” In Police Stations

By Abdullahi Yusuf

The Kano State Police Duty Solicitors Scheme(PDSS) Advisory Committee on Tuesday instructed all Divisional Police Officers in the state to inscribe “Bail Is Free” in various points in their respective offices.

The committee said this would boost its efforts to safeguard human rights of the people.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Hussaini Gumel,disclosed this shortly after a tour of Police Divisional Offices and a Correctional Facility by members of the committee.

Gumel said members of the committee included representatives of the police,the correctional service,human rights organization,the Legal Aids Council, the Court,office of the State Attorney General and civil society organizations.

The tour,he said, took the committee members to the Police Divisional Offices in Zango,Fagge,Hotoro and Sharada,and the Correctional Facility at Janguza.

“Bail is absolutely free and we have instructed all DPOs to inscribe this in every location in their offices so that people coming to the police station offices can see it.

“The inscription will remind people that Bail is free and it is their right to be granted whenever the conditions are fulfilled,”Gumel said.

The Commissioner who spoke on behalf of the committee,said the body also emphasized to the Divisional Police Officers that the rights of detainees must be respected.

“That they should not stay in their custody for more than 24 hours or 48 hours in respect of cases that are supposed to be charged to court,” he said.

He explained that the objective of the tour was to “send a message to the public that the police and other people whom are handling issues of human rights and the law in the state are together and are looking at things from the same perspective in order to ensure that citizens’ rights are respected.”