By John Ikani
The National Economic Council NEC, is to hold a special session to review reports of judicial panels of enquiry set up across Nigeria to investigate the EndSARS protest that took place in the country last year.
This was part of the decision reached at the virtual meeting of NEC presided over by it Chairman, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
Osinbajo announced that the special session of NEC will consider all the reports that are ready from the judicial panels concerning Nigerians who suffered brutality particularly in the hands of me defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other related issues.
The meeting would also consider the implementation of the reports including remedies, redress and compensations.
Recall that the NEC had in October last year, directed governors to set up judicial panels of enquiry to investigate complaints of police brutality or related extrajudicial killings with a view to delivering justice for all victims of the dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squads.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, who briefed the media after the meeting, said that the NEC had started receiving some reports on the judicial panels from the states.
“Almost all States in the Federation set up the panels including the Federal Capital Territory.
“The Vice President at today’s meeting announced that a special session of NEC will soon be convened to consider all the reports that are ready from the judicial panels set up late last year to address the concerns of the Nigerian people on police brutality allegations and other related issues.
“The meeting would also consider the implementation of the reports including remedies, redress and compensations.”
According to Akande, the NEC will consider these reports and “see how best to move forward” after it had received more of the reports of the judicial panels of enquiry at its next meeting.
“It is essentially about paying compensation for those victims of police brutality and that is what it is going to come down to.
“Possibly by the next meeting of NEC we will have a full idea. Of course, when the council made the resolution, there was a time period that was given.
“The good news is that some of those reports are coming in and some of these judicial panels are concluding their work and steps are being taken on how to bring redress to people who were victims of any form of brutality”, he added.
