HURIWA to IGP: Withdraw ‘Shoot-on-Sight’ Order Now

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tunji Disu, to immediately withdraw his reported shoot-on-sight directive against individuals allegedly carrying unlicensed firearms, describing the order as illegal, reckless and unconstitutional.

The rights group recalled that the IGP issued the directive during a high-level security meeting at the Government House in Makurdi, Benue State, where he instructed police officers nationwide to neutralise anyone found with illegal firearms. According to the police chief, the directive followed President Bola Tinubu’s order to end the persistent killings and armed attacks in Benue State. Disu said the police would enforce the order under Force Order 237, which permits officers to use lethal force when they reasonably believe there is an imminent threat to themselves or civilians.
Reacting to the development, HURIWA argued that the IGP lacks the constitutional authority to issue a blanket shoot-on-sight order. The group maintained that Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution guarantees every person’s right to life, except where a competent court has sentenced such a person to death after conviction. It stressed that the Constitution remains superior to any police regulation, including Force Order 237, and therefore cannot be overridden by administrative directives.
HURIWA further warned that the directive could encourage extrajudicial killings, given repeated allegations of unprofessional conduct by some police officers. The organisation noted that possessing an unlicensed firearm does not attract summary execution under Nigerian law and insisted that the police cannot assume the roles of investigator, prosecutor, judge and executioner. It also questioned how the order would affect members of legally recognised vigilante and community security outfits authorised by state laws to bear arms. The group therefore called for the immediate withdrawal of the directive, describing it as unlawful and contrary to the Constitution.