From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The clan head of Imiakebu Community in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Chief Ugheiemhekhia Kareem Yahaya, Azamanodu II of Imiakebu, appeared on Tuesday before the Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of SARS and Related Abuses, seeking a N50 billion compensation.
The money is for the compensation for five youths who were allegedly murdered by the Deputy Police Officer of Agenebode, John E Agaga, in his community.
The incident was said to have occurred on December 28, 2019.
The chief asked for N50 million compensation each for the five of them who were wrongfully detained at the Edo State Police Command for two days, he said.
Chief Yahaya also asked the panel to compel the police officer to release the bodies of the slain youths to their families to enable them to give them befitting burial rites, just as he called for the redeployment of the police officer from the community, noting that his presence is still a potential threat to the community.
Chief Yahaya, who appeared before the panel alongside survivors of the fatal shootings, listed the dead victims as follows: Sabo Abacha, Garuba Shaka, Sunday Augustine, Isaac John and Sunday Junior.
Addressing reporters shortly after appearing before the panel, the counsel to the petitioners, Kami Asunogie, said it was a conflict between two communities, Imiakebu and Isiuku in Etsako East Local Government Area of the state, under the jurisdiction of the police station in Aganebode.
Asunogie alleged that the DPO came into the community, killed the five youths in under five minutes between 12:30 and 12:45 that he was in his village.
He also alleged that the police officer abandoned their bodies having killed them and that it was the military that came to take the bodies to the mortuary with the assistance of locals.
The counsel maintained up until today every attempt to seek justice has been resisted by the DPO himself and that the corpses of the dead youths are in the custody of the police.
‘We have come to this panel to seek for justice. The bodies of our youths that were killed have to be released to us for burial.
‘They have been in the morgue since December 2019. It is the DPO that is keeping them.
‘We want compensation for our community. Those persons have relations and they must be compensated.
‘Just for being present and waiting for an address for their village heads; they have no reason for killing them,’ the petitioners’ counsel told the panel.
