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Gyang Bere, Jos
Two weeks after Governor Simon Lalong inaugurated the Plateau state, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate complaints on police brutality and other related killings set up by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, said it has received three petitions from the public.
The Registrar of the Judicial Panel, Mr Mark Mallan made this known after their inaugural sitting which held at the Azi Nyako Youth Centre in Jos on Monday.
Mallan said “So far, we have received three memoranda. We are expecting that more will be submitted by members of the public before the panel commences hearing on the cases.
“As it is, We have set November 16, 2020, to start hearing on the petitions and it is then that we will determine the number of days the panel will sit in a week.”
At the inaugural sitting, Chairman of the Judicial Panel, Justice Philomena Lot said that the commission has the mandate to receive and investigate any complaints brought before it in line with its mission and would thereafter recommend compensation and other remedial measures after evaluating evidence on the validity of the complaints.
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According to her, the panel has six months within which to complete its assignment and submit reports.
The chairman urged those that would appear before the panel to be precise in their submissions to avoid unnecessary arguments and legal technicalities to enable them to do justice to all parties
The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chrysantus Ahmadu pleaded with the people to be patient with government as everything was being done to address the challenges facing the state including the need for police reforms
He said that government was determined to ensure that all victims of police brutality gets justice at the end of the day but warned those with frivolous petitions to steer clear of the venue of the pannel’s sitting or risk jail terms.
The Punch reports that the inaugural sitting of the Judicial panel was witnessed by many stakeholders including the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Bar Association, Operation Safe Haven, Nigerian Police as well as the Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), an umbrella body of all the ethnic nationalities in Plateau State, among others.
