Delta okays N102 million compensation for #EndSARS victims

Inaugurates human rights complaints panel today

The Delta State Government has accepted to pay victims of #EndSARS protests N102.450 million as recommended by the judicial panel of inquiry.

The government also accepted the recommendation of the panel for the setting up of Human Rights Public Complaints Committee to be headed by the governor, with a view to ensuring that police officers respect the rights of citizens during operations.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, in a statement yesterday in Asaba, said: “This committee will be inaugurated on Wednesday, October, 20, 2021, for the state government to work with the office of the Vice President and the National Economic Council (NEC) to ensure that other recommendations of the judicial panel, which border on the operational modalities of the Nigeria Police Force, are implemented appropriately and judiciously.

He confirmed: The state government, having considered the panel’s recommendations, has accepted to pay the incidental claims recommended for the victims, amounting to the sum of N102.450 million with the assurance that payment would be effected in due course.

“Delta State Government wishes to inform all Deltans and residents that government has received and considered the report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that was constituted to receive and enquire into complaints of police brutality and extra-judicial killings in the state.

“The panel, which was inaugurated in October 2020, received a total of 86 petitions for which it conducted public hearings in Asaba and Warri with full legal representation for all parties.

“It is worthy of mention that the panel was not able to make recommendations on the entire petitions received by it, as some of these petitions are currently pending in various courts in the state.”

He went on: “Hence making pronouncements on them would be subjudice. In addition, some of the petitions were struck out by the panel during the hearing sessions for various reasons.

“In the same vein, the panel upheld judgments earlier delivered by high courts in the state for various cases of police brutality, which judgments have not been complied with till date, including payment of judgment debts associated with them.”

Ukah explained that the panel received no fewer than 30 petitions, which required that the Commissioner of Police carries out investigations to ascertain circumstances of deaths besides identifying culpable cops.