Rivers Civil Society Organizations commends the Rivers State Governor- Barr. E.N. Wike for constituting the Judicial Panel Of Inquiry(JPI) on the activities of Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Rivers State.
This commendation have become necessary as the Governor have responded to the first key demands of the #EndSarsProtestersInPortharcourt, which is the call for the Governor to constitute the Judicial Panel Of Inquiry (JPI).
As we are all aware, the Governor had earlier said he won’t set up the JPI because the previous panel he set up was not implemented by the Federal Government.
RIVCSO however wish to call on the Rivers State Governor to reconstitute or atleast expand the members of the JPI on the following grounds:
1. There is no key participants of the #EndSarsProtestInPortharcourt that is a member of the JPI. This omission clearly violates the Federal Government directive that the various State Governors should engage the #EndSars protesters in their different states. In Lagos for example, members of the #EndSarProtesters nominated their representatives in the JPI to ensure transparency in the panel.
2. The Rivers State Government did not follow the federal government directives on the numbers and category of persons that ought to be in the JPI. For example;
a. The Rivers State JPI have one Civil Society representative instead of two as directed by the Federal Government.
b. The Rivers State JPI don’t have a representative from the Human Right Commission and the student committee as expressly directed by the Federal Government.
3. The Federal Government directed that State Governments should establish State based Judicial Panel of Inquiry across the Country to receive and investigate complaints of Police brutality or related extra-judicial killings in their State with a view to delivering justice for all victims of the dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad(SARS) and OTHER POLICE UNITS and not the JPI set up in Rivers State that tends to be set up for only victims of SARS.
4. Most members of the Rivers State Judicial Panel Of Inquiry are individuals who enjoy very close relationship with the Rivers State Government and the ruling party in the State, as such the outcome of the JPI may not be neutral or meet public expectation.
To ensure openness, accessibility and transparency, we demand that the Governor reconstitute or expand membership of the JPI.
Finally, Rivers Civil Society Organizations as the foremost CSO Coalition in the State, salute the peaceful nature members of the #EndSarsProtesters in Port Harcourt conducted themselves through out the one week protest that stopped on Tuesday, 20/10/20 and call on the Commissioner Of Police to arrest and prosecute all those criminals, thugs, brigands and Arsonist who on Wednesday, 21/10/20 went about destroying private and public properties in the State for no just cause.
We specifically condemn the burning of Police Stations and attack on great Officers of the Nigeria Police. It’s irresponsible in our view to attack Officers who are themselves victims of BAD GOVERNANCE that the #EndSarsProtest seek to end.
Thank you!
Com. Enefaa Georgewill
Chairman, Rivers Civil Society Organizations
