AN ANALYSIS ON THE POWERS OF THE PUBLIC COMPLAINT COMMISSION IN THE PROTECTION OF CITIZENS’ RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

The Public Complaints Commission (PCC) came into existence as a result of the Public Complaints Commission Act of 2004. The purpose of the act is to establish the Public Complaints Commission with wide powers to inquire into complaints by members of the public concerning the administrative action of any public authority and companies or their officials, and other matters ancillary thereto. Searching through the literature, it was discovered that there is extreme scarcity of knowledge on how the powers given to the PCC have helped protect the rights of Nigerian citizens. Hence, to fill this knowledge gap, this study assessed whether, the powers given to the PCC as a result of the Public Complaints Commission Act of 2004 have actually helped in protecting the rights of Nigerian citizens. The study found out that the PCC have helped somewhat in protecting the rights of citizens in Nigeria. However, some improvements are needed to be made by the PCC help increase the protection citizens get in Nigeria. This study recommends that the Public Complaints Commission Act of 2004 be revised, so that the current weaknesses of the Act can be improved upon as this will help the PCC achieve the major reasons why it was established in 2004.