Investigative panel on SARS abuses urges Police not to delay proceedings

The Independent Investigative Panel on SARS and other units of the Nigerian Police sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital urged the Nigerian Police to assist the Panel deliver on its mandates.

A member of the Panel, John Aikpopko Martins stated this while addressing counsels to the Nigerian Police over the seemingly lackluster attitude displayed by counsels to the police and other support staff responsible for ensuring that matters before the panel are heard expeditiously.

“Counsels to the respondents should stop frustrating panel’s effort in the ongoing hearings because time is of the essence in arriving at justice” he cautioned.

Mr. Martin’s also reminded counsels to the Police that they are first lawyers before being police personnel and that professional ethics are expected of them.

He further stated that counsel to the police owe a duty to the panel to assist it in carrying out the task before it successfully.

The Panel expressed this concern in respect of a case of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, prolonged unlawful detention and access to justice instituted by Mr.  Salihu Suleiman against a member of the defunct SARS FCT Command, Christopher Onyishi and three others.

In the petition Suleiman had accused the police of arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention of his son, Mr. Lukman Salihu since 2015, who was at the time, a student of Nasarawa Polytechnic.

Surprisingly, the affected Police Officers were absent when the matter was called on  February 26, 2021 for Police to open their defense.

Consequently, the matter was adjourned till 7th April, 2021 for the Police to open their defense.

The Petitioner is seeking among other reliefs, the sum of N500 Million naira as compensation for unlawful detention.

Establishing the Panel

Following the nationwide protests against police brutality, tagged #EndSARS, one of the demands of the protesters was an establishment of a panel of judicial enquiry to try officers who have been involved in cases of human rights abuses and to give justice to victims and their families.

In this vein, states including Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and others took necessary steps to make this a reality, by going forward to set up states judicial panel.

In similar vein, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) innaugurated the Independent Investigative panel on the allegations of human rights violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad SARS, to complement the work of the State Judicial Panels.

Emmanuel Ukoh