Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi on Monday said the state government would no
\nlonger tolerate extortion and brutality on the people by police
\npersonnel in the state.<\/p>\n
Umahi, who made the announcement at the old-Government House complex
\nwhile addressing #EndSARS protesters, said that any form of roadblocks
\nwould no longer be tolerated anywhere in the state.<\/p>\n
The governor said that he would meet the state commissioner of police
\nand the commandant of the military cantonment for the immediate
\nenforcement of the order.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will only accept a situation where security personnel stay by the
\nroadside, stop and check any vehicle they suspect after which the person
\ngoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cResist any policeman who asks you for money and call me on the phone
\nbecause enough is enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He urged the protesters to be mature in their protests and to conduct
\nthemselves peacefully, saying they had by their actions, achieved much
\nfor themselves, the state, and the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will on Tuesday inaugurate a judicial panel of inquiry into police
\nbrutality, extra-judicial killings, and other human rights violations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe panel will be headed by a high court judge and will consist of
\nrepresentatives of protesters, youth groups, students\u2019 union, human
\nrights group, state attorney general\u2019s office among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will receive and investigate complaints of human rights abuses,
\nevaluate the evidence presented, draw conclusions on the validity of the
\nclaims, recommend compensations and other remedial measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also set up a victim’s support fund to compensate families
\naffected by police brutality and other human rights violations while
\nsetting up a trust fund, under my watch, to pay the compensations,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Umahi promised to join the protesters in their \u2018candlelight\u2019 procession
\nfor victims of police brutality on Monday night and also in their
\nprotest march on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am directing all tertiary institutions to resume academic activities
\non Oct. 21, and any lecturer who fails to turn up will be sacked,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The protesters, who insisted they did not have a leader, finally allowed
\nMr Stephen Ugamah to speak on their behalf.<\/p>\n
Ugama listed their demands to include: an investigation of activities of
\nSARS in Ebonyi, police brutality, compensation for victims of SARS and
\npolice brutality, and immediate release of all those detained by the
\npolice over the protests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want the harassment and extortion of Ekeaba police station
\ninvestigated, activities of the local government area tax collectors
\namong others,\u201d he said. (NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi on Monday said the state government would no longer tolerate extortion and brutality on the people by police personnel in the state. Umahi, who made…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-news"],"yoast_head":"\n