Panel Reports and Recommendations

Panel Reports and Recommendations

Ayodeji Ake

Under the instruction of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-led National Economic Council (NEC), states established Judicial Panels of Inquiry to investigate complaints against the Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) and other police units.

However, only 11 states: Abia, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Rivers, have submitted reports of their respective panels, according to a statement by Osinbajo’s spokesman Laolu Akande.

Based on the recommendations by the panel, NEC said recently that it has resolved that “each State, in collaboration with the Federal Government, shall establish modalities for the settlement of all monetary compensations awarded by the panels. Already, as resolved by NEC, a number of states have set up Victims Compensation Funds, from which several victims have already received payments of sums awarded to them by the panels.

“Council directed state governors to immediately forward copies of final reports of the panels to their Attorneys-General for prompt arraignment and prosecution of all indicted persons. Where incidents in the reports relate to matters of discipline, in addition to prosecution, NEC urged the Nigeria Police Force to take disciplinary action on the affected officers in line with the provisions of the Police Act 2020.”

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