Police Brutality: Ekiti judicial panel grants complainant N150,000 to repair car

The Ekiti State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into police brutality sitting in Ado Ekiti, on Friday, recommended an award of N150,000 in compensation to a complainant, Adaramola Abiodun.

The Chairperson of the panel, Cornelius Akintayo, said the compensation was to enable the complainant repair his car after it was vandalised by hoodlums, who hijacked the #EndSARS protest in October.

“It is our recommendation that government should pay the complainant the compensation in the interest of justice,’’ he said.

He said that having inspected the car, the panel believed the testimony of the complainant that it was damaged by hoodlums where it was parked.

Earlier, the complainant, had prayed the panel to assist him to generate N150,000, being the cost of repairing the car.

After the panel’s pronouncement, a visibly elated Mr Abiodun thanked the Ekiti State government for setting it up to entertain complaints.

Also on Friday, the panel adjourned hearing of other complaints to December.

Notable among the adjourned cases were those involving police operatives, and others on properties razed at Ikere-Ekiti during the protest.

The panel of inquiry was set up by the state government on the directive of the Federal Government to look into all cases of brutality and other forms of right violation allegedly perpetrated by the police.

The #EndSARS protests, which rocked the country in October, were organised by Nigerian youth to protest the excesses of SARS, now disbanded by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

The protest, which was largely peaceful, later became violent following its hijack by hoodlums who burnt and looted both public and and properties.

(NAN)