Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
The judicial panel of inquiry set up by the Bayelsa State Government to investigate police brutality and allegations of human rights abuses in the state has received over 35 petitions amid concerns over its delayed take-off due to paucity of funds.
The panel chaired by retired Justice Y.B. Ogola, with Mr Alaowei Opokuma, as Secretary, was inaugurated in October to equally set up the special security and human rights committee to supervise and monitor the new tactical unit of the police Strategic Weapons and Tactical Squad in the state.
Investigation revealed that the delayed sitting was caused by the alleged non-release of fund by the state government and the poor submissions from the human rights and civil society groups.
It was gathered that the zonal office of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was undecided whether to submit about 20 petitions before the panel in Bayelsa due to the poor signal on take-off.
Most of the petitions received by the panel are not only against police personnel that served in the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad but from other units of the state Police Command.
Government sources claimed that the judicial panel had been running without a budget from the state government.
It was also alleged that at the stage of calling for submission of petitions before commencement of sittings, the issue of a huge slash in the budget proposal to N20 million despite its non-release was responsible for the delay.
When contacted on the development, the Secretary of the panel, Mr Olaowei Opokuma, denied knowledge of the issue of non-release of fund for the take-off of the panel sitting, declaring that nothing was hampering the judicial panel sitting in the state.
Opokuma said the judicial panel in the state had a schedule of activities and that they were at the stage of receiving petitions in line with the ongoing sensitisation in the state.
“I can’t give you the exact figure of numbers of petitions before the panel. As I am talking to you, I am just receiving another one,” he said.
He, however, confirmed that all the petitions received were not only against the police personnel that served with the disbanded SARS in the state, “but also against some of the personnel that served in other units of the police command.”
Recall that Governor Douye Diri while setting up the judicial panel and security and human rights committee, said it was constituted in response to the yearnings of the youth as articulated in the demands of the EndSARS protesters.