Five youth representatives at the Anambra State Judicial Panel of Enquiry put in place by Governor Willie Obiano to investigate alleged extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), on Sunday announced their resignation.
Speaking during a joint press conference in Awka, the youths identified inefficiency and poor organisation on the part of the panel as their reason for resigning.
The resignation letter was copied to the Chairman of the panel, Secretary to the State Government, Chairmen of Anambra State branches of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), NBA President, National Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International.
It accused the government of playing lip service, citing lack of funding to enhance clerical or secretarial functions of the panel, provision for security or witness protection as part of the lapses that led to resignation.
The youths include Osonwa Chukwuka, Comrade Kas Obinwuzie, Comrade Ebelechukwu Ngini, Chijioke Ifediora and Henry Ugwu.
Reading a jointly signed statement on behalf of others, Chijioke Ifediora observed that though the panel received 310 petitions from victims of SARS brutality since its constitution on October 20, 2020, it was yet to treat up to 60 cases.
They said that despite taking a break for Christmas in December, the panel had not thought it wise to reconvene to conclude its activities two months later.
The statement partly reads: “We firmly refuse to be pawns in the game of the government so, we hereby resign our appointments into the Anambra State panel and completely disassociate ourselves from all the charade put up to give lip service to the plights of Anambra state.
“The undersigned are fully aware that our position expressed in this correspondence may expose us to blackmail and intimidation but we are determined to say the truth.
“The sittings of the panel were characterised by inefficiency and poor organisation because the Anambra State Government failed woefully to adequately provide logistics for anything at all involving the proceedings of the panel. There was no funding to enhance clerical or secretarial functions of the panel, no provision for security or witness protection.
“We are now however convinced beyond peradventure that the Anambra state government has no regard for the victims of the many human rights violations by the police in the state. The government has totally ignored the panel and had simply setup the panel to play to the gallery.
“Many victims of abuse of police powers and other interested stakeholders have been communicating the panel’s secretariat or its members in a bid to know why the panel is no longer sitting despite more than 250 petitions which have been unattended to.
“All these inquiries have failed to yield concrete answers and the government despite being aware of the interest of the publics is showing no signs of interest in the activities of the panel.”
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