The Bayelsa State panel of Inquiry on police brutality and extra judicial killings has promised the petitioners of a just and fair hearing of all the petitions before it.
Chairman of the panel, Justice Young Emmanuel gave the assurance at the inaugural sitting of the panel in Yenagoa, with a pledge to thoroughly investigate the details of each case
Nineteen petitions are said to have been submitted to the Justice Young Emmanuel led panel of Inquiry.
Six out of the nineteen were up for mention at the first sitting.
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Justice Emmanuel reeled out the terms of preference, assuring all parties of a fair hearing.
Representatives of Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the Bayelsa commissioner of police also declared their commitment to ensuring justice is served.
Out of the six petitions was that of one Mr Daniel Kokorifa whose 17 year old son, Innocent Kokorifa was said to have been killed by a police corporal on August the 18, 2016.
Although respondents of the six cases failed to appear before the panel, sitting was however adjourned to January 6th, 2021 for hearing.
The inquiry panel which has been set up in various states across the country is a fallout of October’s EndSARS protests. It seeks to identify and punish police officers who comitted human rights abuses and ensure some measure of closure for victims of police brutality and their families.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
