#EndSARS: Makinde Inaugurates Judicial Panel Of Inquiry, As State Receives 50 Petitions

The Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde has
inaugurated an 11-man Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate
allegations of extrajudicial killings and brutality by security agents
against residents of the State.

Governor Makinde, who declared the readiness of the state to take
appropriate actions against indicted persons or agencies, said that
all affected persons should feel free to come forward with their
complaints.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Makinde, Mr.
Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the governor made the declaration while
inaugurating the panel of inquiry today November 10, 2020 at the Executive Council Chamber, of
the State’s Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan .

The statement added that Governor Makinde said that the state
government through the platforms it earlier set up to collate cases of
rights infringements has received close to 50 complaints of alleged
police brutality and human rights violations.

He said: “As a government, we are doing our part and setting up this
panel of inquiry, some people have said it will not yield any result.
Well, the only way it can produce results is if people present their
cases and bring evidence to support them so that the panel can make
their recommendations which will then be adopted and implemented.

“Something will happen if people are able to come forward and present
their cases before the panel.”

According to him, the Federal Government had on October 16 directed
all state governors to set up judicial panels of inquiry to listen to
petitions of the members of the public and recommend actions against
police brutality, violation of rights of citizens, and unlawful
killings.

He also told the gathering that the State government had signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Ibadan on the
training of security agents serving in the state on criminal justice
and human rights enforcement.

“As stated, only state governors can, by law, set up judicial
inquiries in their states. People have been asking why we didn’t
proceed to set up this panel in Oyo State immediately. Well, we
decided here to first get some clarity into the types of cases that
this panel of inquiry will be looking into. So, in selecting members
of the panel, we have people who are of sound mind and intellect and
the people who have the requisite knowledge and expertise to make
objective appraisals of these petitions.”

He said that the panel is made up of eleven members drawn from the
legal, community, National Human Rights Commission, the Department of
Public Prosecution, National Youths Council of Nigeria, Youths
representatives of #EndSARS protesters, and the community.

“They are men and women of high repute who have shown themselves up to
this task. At least, I can see some of you that we were face to face
during the protest.”

The governor also added that the late Isiaka Jimoh, Ganiyu Moshood,
and Adeoye Taiwo who were killed during the #EndSARS protest as well
as police officers who were brutally murdered would be thoroughly
investigated, while their killers would be brought to book.

“Let me reiterate that those who are responsible for the death of
Isiaka Jimoh, Ganiyu Moshood Alabi, and Adeoye Taiwo will be brought
to book. We all want a society where the rights of the people are
respected. Also, we will look into the issue of the policemen that
were brutally murdered and roasted.”

Speaking further, the governor denied media reports which indicated
that South West Governors had at a recent meeting held in Lagos voted
in favour of a clampdown on social media.

He stated that the existing cyber-crime act should be able to deal
with issues that might arise from the use of cyberspace adding that
efforts must be made to rebuild the trust deficit that currently
exists between the government and the citizens.

He further stated: “And I said in various fora that we are fully aware
of the trust-deficit in the system right now between the government,
leaders and the ordinary citizens. There is a lot of anger in the
land. There is a lot of hunger as well. And we all have that
responsibility to calm things down and to reduce that trust-deficit.”

He decried what he called the prevalence of fake news adding that
those who want to play politics with other people’s emotions should
note that “what usually goes around usually would come around.”

He explained that the state had signed an MOU with the University of
Ibadan to enhance human rights administration in the state.

“Just yesterday, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the
University of Ibadan to collaborate with the Oyo State government in
the training of police officers and officers of other security
agencies in criminal justice and human rights enforcement. This is
with a view to eliminating incidents of police brutality, unlawful
killings, extortion, and violation of human rights, amongst other
vices. We have gone that step further because, again, we noticed that
we do have a serious gap between the knowledge that the police have
about their rights and how to treat ordinary people on the street. We
need to be aware of how the system works. Change takes time,” he said.

While speaking earlier, the Attorney General of the state and
Commissioner for Justice, Prof Oyelowo Oyewo, assured that with the
caliber of people on the panel, he was certain it would discharge the
functions of making quality recommendations, meritoriously

Members of the panel chaired by former Chief of Judge of the State,
Justice Badejoko Adeniji include Mrs. O. O Ogundele (Secretary);
Prof. J. O Akintayo; Hon. Babatunde Oduyoye; Mrs. W. F Odutayo; N. O
Sulaiman; Ms. M. Y Kolawole; Mrs. M. Badmus; Ms. O Akintayo Falowo
Saheed; and Mrs. Agbeja Adebobola.