With Saliu Woru Mohammed
Continued from last week
They are not expected to lie. Doing so may be tantamount to perverting the course of justice, the consequence of which is always unpalatable in law courts.
The complainant should provide the police with a description of the suspect where the need arises. He may be required to lead the police to the scene of crime for collection of clues, where necessary. When genuine case is established, the complaint will be entered into the First Information Report (FIR) which the complainant will be required to sign or thumb print if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect actually participated or committed the crime, his arrests will be effected and he will, accordingly be required to make a voluntary written statement as to his role in the incident.
Both the suspect and his witnesses will be accorded fair hearing. The suspect could be released on bail depending on the nature of the offence. If a “prima facie” case could not be established at the end, the suspect will be let off the hook.
It is necessary to emphasise that the complainant’s witnesses, the suspect and even the members of the public have supporting roles to play during police investigation, so as to enable the police arrive at a just conclusion.
It should also be borne in mind that complainants that are false, not genuine, or are malicious in nature are not usually encouraged by the police.
In any case, whenever any complainant feels that his complaint is not receiving the desired attention or is unsatisfied with the action of the police handling his complaints, he should promptly contact the most senior officer in the station for further assistance.
Complaint could be lodged through a telephone call as the situation required and you have the will for doing so. It could be through anonymous petition if your life is threatened or as in danger and you have no chance to visit the police station on time, this could be done through a trusted one or your representative who will be required to submit statements of complaint to that effect.
There is no discrimination as to sex or tribe as who is qualified to lodge a complaint at the police station as male or female adult can lodge a complaint. However, you should be very careful while lodging complaint to the police or court. The police recording a complaint are not expected to be discourteous to the complaint or to the witnesses or engage him in any form of corrupt practice while discharging his duties. Continue from next week
