Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Two men of the Ekiti State Police Command on Tuesday appeared before the Ekiti Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by Gov Kayode Fayemi to probe alleged cases of rights violations and brutality against operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to request for compensations over their burnt and damaged vehicles.
The policemen, Sergeant Kolawole Adesina and Inspector Yaqubu Aminu, were requesting for a total of N1.7 million to purchase a new car and repair the damaged one.
This came as the Chairman of the panel, Justice Cornelius Akintayo, asked complainants and lawyers appearing before him to accord their cases utmost priorities for expeditious trial of all the issues pending before him.
Relaying how the incident happened, Sergeant Kolawole and Inspector Aminu, attached to Afao Divisional Police Station, Ikere Ekiti, said on the 20th October, 2020, they were in their office when hoodlums invaded the place and razed down the station, including their cars.
Sergeant Kolawole said: “I was on duty and around 1pm, I heard people shouting EndSARS and before I could understand, they began to throw stones at the police station. They attacked, assaulted some police officers, they even injured many of them. This made me to run for my life.
“I managed to escape through the fence. After the attack, I came back to the station, I realised they have maliciously damaged my car, a Golf 3 Car with registration number Ekiti AG 401 MUE. Photograph of the damaged car and documents were already submitted.
“The protesters broke into the car and took away the originals of the particulars, but I have the photocopy with me. They carted away the car tape, battery and smashed the windows. The estimate of the damage amounted to about N400,000.”
While being led -in -evidence, Inspector Aminu explained that his vehicle, a Golf 3 with number plate AG 828 AER, was not damaged, but burnt down outrightly by the hoodlums.
“I purchased the vehicle for N550,000 on 5th March, 2012. I want to be assisted with a sum of N1.3 million to purchase another vehicle”, he pleaded.
Though, the panel chairman blamed the policemen for parading expired vehicle particulars and he adjourned the case to November 12.
The Chairman of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry Justice Cornelius Akintayo, gave the charge on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti at the commencement of hearing of the petitions.
Akintayo appealed to the petitioners and Lawyers to see the matters before the panel as fundamental human rights cases and hence cases should be given utmost priorities because there is a timeline for the sitting of the panel.
The Chairman warned complainants not to dump or abandone the process of hearing on the panel after calling the first two cases and they were absent and no one appeared for them out of the 11 matter for hearing slated for the day.