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Soludo to inherit payment of N200m to Anambra SARS victims

Governance

By Nwafor Okafor

 

From the look of things, the Anambra State Governor-elect, Prof Chukwuma Soludo will be the person to receive the #ENDSARS report from a panel set up by the outgoing governor Willie Obiano.

 

THE RAZOR NEWS gathered that the report would not be ready any time soon due to logistics problem.

 

To this effect, Soludo will also inherit the payment of N200 million compensation budgeted for SARS victims in the state by the state government.

 

Recall that Anambra State Government had made a budgetary proposal of N200m for the compensation of persons in Anambra who had proven cases of gross human rights violation, torture and death from activities of the defunct SARS in Anambra state.

 

Governor Willie Obiano announced this when he presented the state 2021 budget estimates to the Anambra State House of Assembly at Assembly Complex, Awka.

 

A member of the Anambra State #EndSARS panel and the state chairman, Civil Liberties Organisation, Vincent Ezekweme, has said that logistics and funding delayed the submission of the panel’s report to the governor, Willie Obiano.

 

Ezekweme said, considering the fact that the panel had over 302 petitions, the highest in the country, it needed more time to carry out a thorough job that would meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people who were victimised by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

 

Speaking to our correspondent , Ezekweme said the panel was putting finishing touches to the report, promising that it would be submitted by the end of January or in the first week of February.

 

Ezekweme stated that the panel expected the state government to implement the recommendations in the report.

He said, “Logistics and funding was a problem. There was never a time when the government could fund a panel as expected. Funding was a problem but members of the panel endured in order to ensure that justice is done to those who were victimised.

“So, we made sacrifices to ensure that justice is done. Logistics problem is common in every panel and we actually ensured that we made sacrifices to ensure we lived up to our expectations. Most of the people lived outside Awka and they risked their lives and businesses.

 

“Before the end of this month, we will certainly submit the report to the governor, we have succeeded in attending to all the petitions before us, we are writing conclusions and final report now, and time is not on our side considering the fact that we had over 302 petitions before us – the highest in the country.

By Ifeizu Joe

Ifeizu is a seasoned journalist and Managing Editor of TheRazor. He has wide knowledge of Anambra State and has reported the state objectively for over a decade.

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