Abuja #EndSARS panel indicts 72 police officers for human rights abuses
The #EndSARS panel in Abuja indicted 72 police officers for various human rights violations and recommended them for prosecution and varying degrees of punishment.
According to the panel report officially presented in Abuja on Tuesday, 28 of the officers were recommended for prosecution, 25 for dismissal, 15 for disciplinary action and four for demotion.
Panel secretary Hilary Ogbonna attributed the relatively higher number of officers recommended for prosecution and removal to the number of complaints of extrajudicial executions and requests for enforced disappearance received.
Panel Secretary, Hilary Ogbonna “If 28 people have been charged with prosecution, this actually means… the considerable number of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.
“So it's not by mistake that you have this high number of lawsuits and dismissals; (it is) because of the high number of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances."
Of the 295 requests for police brutality cases received by the panel, 64 were cases of extrajudicial executions and seven of enforced disappearance, both of which amount to a total of 77 people killed or missing forever, said Mr. Ogbonna.
He said the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had paid a total of N438,884,094 to 100 victims and petitioners.
He instructed other government institutions to play their part in implementing other aspects of the report.
“Now is the time for other government institutions to do their own job. The committee has done its job. And we need to take the next step,” he said.
The names of the charged police officers appear in the panel report which has not yet been made public.
Earlier at the event on Tuesday, NHRC Executive Secretary Tony Ojukwu officially received the report of the Commission of Inquiry from its Chairman, Suleiman Galadima, who is a retired judge of the Court supreme.
Known officially as the Independent Investigation Panel (IPP) into human rights abuses against SARS and other units of the...
The #EndSARS panel in Abuja indicted 72 police officers for various human rights violations and recommended them for prosecution and varying degrees of punishment.
According to the panel report officially presented in Abuja on Tuesday, 28 of the officers were recommended for prosecution, 25 for dismissal, 15 for disciplinary action and four for demotion.
Panel secretary Hilary Ogbonna attributed the relatively higher number of officers recommended for prosecution and removal to the number of complaints of extrajudicial executions and requests for enforced disappearance received.
Panel Secretary, Hilary Ogbonna “If 28 people have been charged with prosecution, this actually means… the considerable number of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.
“So it's not by mistake that you have this high number of lawsuits and dismissals; (it is) because of the high number of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances."
Of the 295 requests for police brutality cases received by the panel, 64 were cases of extrajudicial executions and seven of enforced disappearance, both of which amount to a total of 77 people killed or missing forever, said Mr. Ogbonna.
He said the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had paid a total of N438,884,094 to 100 victims and petitioners.
He instructed other government institutions to play their part in implementing other aspects of the report.
“Now is the time for other government institutions to do their own job. The committee has done its job. And we need to take the next step,” he said.
The names of the charged police officers appear in the panel report which has not yet been made public.
Earlier at the event on Tuesday, NHRC Executive Secretary Tony Ojukwu officially received the report of the Commission of Inquiry from its Chairman, Suleiman Galadima, who is a retired judge of the Court supreme.
Known officially as the Independent Investigation Panel (IPP) into human rights abuses against SARS and other units of the...
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