EndSARS: Abuja panel awards fresh N289m to 74 victims
Tamarauemi Ebimini
The Independent Investigative Panel on human right violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, and other Units of the Nigeria Police Force, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, awarded compensations to 74 victims of police brutality, to the tune of about N289million.
The panel, which was led by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Suleiman Galadima, awarded compensations, after it considered a total of 297 petitions that were brought before it by either victims or their family members.
Secretary of the panel, Mr. Hillary Ogbonna, disclosed that allegations in the petitions that were determined, bordered on extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, cruel/degrading and inhumane treatment by police officers, prolonged detention, abuse of power, as well as non payment of judgement debts.
He decried that some of the victims died before the panel could conclude its investigations that spanned for a period of two years.
According to him, though 297 petitions were lodged before the panel, only 295 cases were successfully determined by the panel.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Mr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said he was delighted that the establishment was able to get justice for victims of police brutality.
