Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has inaugurated the Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality, Violation of Rights of Citizens and Unlawful Killings.
This disclosure was made by the Governor, in a statement which he made public via his official Twitter account today.
The Governor disclosed that the State Judicial Panel of Inquiry will seek to investigate deeply into police brutality, violation of rights of citizens and unlawful killings by rogue security operatives.
READ: Seyi Makinde Proposes N3 billion investment plan for water supply
This afternoon, we inaugurated the Oyo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality, Violation of Rights of Citizens and Unlawful Killings. The panel is made up of eleven (11) members led by Justice Bolajoko Adeniji (retired), as Chairman of the Panel. pic.twitter.com/4p0i1JODI9
— Seyi Makinde (@seyiamakinde) November 10, 2020
Governor Makinde said that the inaugurated State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality will be made up of eleven (11) members led by Justice Bolajoko Adeniji (retired), as the Chairman of the Panel.
However, members of the panel are drawn from the legal community, the National Human Rights Commission, the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), the National Youth Council of Nigeria, youth representatives of End SARS protesters and the community.
He reiterated that the panel was constituted pursuant to Section 2(1) of the Oyo State Commission of Inquiry Law Cap 32 of the Laws of Oyo State 2000, which empowers the Governor to set up a commission of inquiry.
READ: Lagos judicial panel rejects LCC’s request to take back Lekki Tollgate
He encouraged anyone who has faced human rights abuse at the hands of any of the security forces to use this opportunity to seek justice.
He stated that those responsible for the deaths of Isiaka Jimoh, Ganiyu Moshood Alabi, and Adeoye Taiwo would be brought to book.
However, as the scope of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police Brutality is beyond Oyo State, Oyo State will be collaborating with the Federal Govt.
What you should know
Following the nationwide protests against police brutality, tagged #EndSARS, one of the demands of the protesters agreed to by the government during the protests, was the setting up of judicial panels of inquiry by state governments into cases of alleged violations of human rights by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other units of the police.
However, since then the state governments of Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Delta and others have moved on to set-up their respective Judicial Panels of Inquiry into cases of Police Brutality.
READ: #EndSARS: CCTV footage from day of Lekki shootings played at Judicial Panel
In this vein, Nairametrics reported that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has inaugurated an Independent Investigative Panel (IIP) on the allegations of human rights violations by the defunct SARS, to complement the work of the State Judicial Panels.
Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website
