The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has inaugurated the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Police brutality in the state .
The Governor who was represented by his deputy, Hadiza Balarabe,gave the panel 6months to complete it’s findings and a firm assurance that impunity by security agencies will not be tolerated in the state.
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The Deputy Governor explained that the emergence of sustained institutional mechanisms for an independent review of police actions will help provide safeguards against abuse of police powers, as well as helping to build public confidence in the police to enforce the law fairly and impartially.
She further says that the setting up of a judicial panel of inquiry into police brutality in Kaduna state is a critical step in establishing accountability for unlawful conduct by police personnel and creating a platform for victims and their families to receive redress for their pain and loss.
According to the Deputy Governor, such an inquiry will also, along with other actions, help enthrone the principle that the police as the prime law enforcement agency in Nigeria must itself be governed by and uphold the rule of law.
Among the terms of reference of the panel includes Receiving and investigating complaints of Police brutality or related extra-judicial killings; Evaluate evidence presented/other surrounding circumstances, and draw conclusions as to the validity of the complaints; and recommend compensation and other remedial measures, where appropriate.
While she notes that the inauguration of a panel of inquiry into police failings is one of the first steps that can be immediately undertaken, among the several other measures required for securing comprehensive police reform, the deputy governor calls on the general public, particularly the protesters and victims of any violation of human rights by the Police, to avail this Commission of Inquiry every relevant information to enable it to deliver justice to victims and to help orient the police to a new standard of rigorous compliance with the rule of law.
