#EndSARS: Delta State to Pay Victims of Police Brutality

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has declared a Special Victims’ Support Fund that the state government would establish. This is to pay monetary compensation to deserving victims of police brutality or related extra-judicial killings in the state.

The announcement was made in Asaba while he was inaugurating an eight-member Judicial Panel of Enquiry into police brutality and other human rights abuses in the state.

He expressed his disappointment that hose empowered to protect Nigerians are killing and brutalising them. He tasked the panel to investigate and report all cases of human rights abuses by the now dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

He also tasked the panel to deice ways of punishing those found guilty, and expressed optimism that the Nigerian Police would be reformed for the good of the country.

See excerpts from his statements below.

“Today, we earnestly commence the process of bringing about restitution and healing for countless number of Nigerians, particularly the youth, who have been victims of police brutality, extortion, unlawful detention, and/or extra-judicial killings.

“In the more than one week that the EndSARS protests began, the news media – conventional and online – have been inundated with tales of woes that innocent Nigerians have experienced in the hands of the now dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

“Some of the stories we have heard are heart-rending and it is unfathomable how these gruesome acts could have gone on unnoticed for years.

“Interestingly, the EndSARS protests were triggered by an event in Ughelli, Delta State. It is a tragedy that so many young lives have been brutalised and allegedly wasted at the hands of those who were supposed to protect and serve the people.

“I join my voice to that of the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, in apologizing for the failure of leadership to detect and address these anomalies early enough.

“Rising from its meeting last week, the National Executive Council, chaired by the Vice-President, directed the immediate establishment of State-based Judicial Panels of Enquiry across the country to receive and investigate complaints of police brutality or related extra-judicial killings. Today’s inauguration follows that directive,” he said.

The governor listed the terms of reference for the enquiry and announced that the panel has an initial period of three months to carry out the assignment and submit its report, saying: “I wish to remind members of the panel that we are in a national emergency and, therefore, this assignment should be handled with the urgency that it requires.

“You are to hit the ground running given the unease and tension in the country. We need to calm frayed nerves and the only way we can do it is to take appropriate and immediate action.

“I therefore urge you to go the extra mile and be willing to make whatever sacrifices this job demands of you for the sake of the country and our beloved Delta State.”