LAGOS, Nov 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria’s Lagos state judicial panel looking into accusations of abuse made against members of the former Special Anti Robbery Squad (Sars) has started its second day of sitting.
The chair of the panel, Doris Okuwobi, has said that they have been “inundated with so many cases and the panel must move faster”.
The panel has also been asked to investigate what happened last week at the Lekki Toll Gate where Amnesty International say protesters were shot at by the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police force.
The panel was set up to hear cases of police brutality by the disbanded Sars unit.
Its formation was after weeks of deadly protests calling for major reforms.
A week after the killing of activists protesting police brutality in Nigeria’s largest city, a Lagos state government judicial panel began hearings into the violence on Tuesday.
Demonstrators took part in daily protests across Nigeria for nearly two weeks over widespread claims of kidnapping, harassment and extortion by a police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The eight-person Judicial Panel of Restitution at the Lagos Court of Arbitration will look at the claims against SARS, which was disbanded on Oct 11 in response to the protests, and also investigate last Tuesday’s deadly incident at Lekki Toll Gate.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says 69 people have been killed in protests against police brutality that have rocked the country.
The deaths were mainly civilians but include police officers and soldiers. — NNN-AGENCIES
