Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City
The Clan Head of Imiakebu Community in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Chief Ugheiemhekhia Kareem Yahaya Azamanodu II of Imiakebu, has appeared with four others before the Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of SARS and related abuses to seek financial compensation to the tune of N50 billion.
The money is to compensate the five youths who were allegedly murdered by the Divisional Police Officer of the Aganebode, the headquarters of the local government, John E. Agaga in his community.
The incident, the Clan Head said, occurred on December 28, 2019.
He also asked for N50 million compensation each for five elders, including himself who were wrongfully detained at the Aganebode police station and state police command headquarters for five days.
The Azamanodu II of Imiakebu, further asked the panel to compel the police authorities to release the bodies of the slain youths to their families to enable them give them befitting burial rites, just as he called for the redeployment of the accused police officer, SP Agaga from Aganebode police station, saying that his presence in the police station is still a potential threat to members of his community.
He gave the names of the victims of the dastardly shooting as Sabo Abacha, Garuba Shaka, Sunday Augustine, Isaac John and Sunday Junior.
Addressing newsmen shortly after appearing before the panel, counsel to the petitioners, Kami Asunogie, said it was a conflict between two communities, brother and sister, named Imiakebu and Isiuku in Etsako East Local Government Area of the state under the jurisdiction of the police station in Aganebode.
Asunogie alleged that the DPO, came into the community, killed five youths between 12:30 and 12:45, in the community on December 28, 2019.
He also alleged that the police abandoned their bodies having killed them and that it was the military that came to take the bodies to the mortuary with the assistance of the people of the local community.
The counsel said up till today, every attempt to seek justice has been resisted by the DPO himself and bodies of the slain youths have been confiscated by the police.
“We have come to this panel to seek for justice. The bodies of our youths that were killed, have to be released to us for proper burial.
“They have been in the morgue since December 2019. It is the DPO that is keeping them.
“We want compensation for our community. Those persons have relations, and they must be compensated.
“Just for being present and waiting for an address for their village heads. They have no reason for killing them,” he said.
