Falana stated that over five judgments had declared that the parading of suspects is illegal.

While poor suspects are paraded for allegedly stealing tubers of yam or telephone handsets valued at ₦10,000 or less, politically-exposed persons accused of looting the public treasury to the tune of ₦10 billion or more are never paraded before the media.”

It is equally discriminatory as only lowly placed criminal suspects are exposed to media parade by the police and ot

He said, “The practice of parading suspects is illegal as it constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental right of criminal suspects to the presumption of innocence guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Legal Backing For Ban
Naija News reports that renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) described the practice of parading suspects as illegal

Awaiting Official Police ReactionThe Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, stated that an official statement would be released soon. “The police will react officially on the matter when it is time,” he said.

Similarly, an officer in the FCT confirmed, “Yes, we have been asked to stop parading suspects.”

Senior police officers in Abuja and Lagos, in an interview with Punch, confirmed receiving the directive. A top officer in Lagos said, “I am aware of it. The directive was given earlier this month, and the information was passed down to us. You would have noticed some level of compliance.”

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has directed the Nigeria Police Force to stop the public parade of crime suspects.

AGF Fagbemi Bans Nigeria Police From Parading Suspects