Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Human Right, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation (HURIDE), has called on Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State to as a matter of utmost immediacy set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the fracas which led to the killings of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Oliver Abbey, and the Special Anti-Robbery Commander, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Joseph Akubo, and other civilians in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.
HURIDE also frowned on the lackadaisical attitudes of the governor Wellie Obiano over his inability to visit the scene of the ugly incident more than 2 weeks after…
The fracas was also said to have led to the razing down of the houses belonging to the family members of Indegenous People’s of Biafra (IPOB)’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor and his relations.
In a statement in Awka, the rights group said the State Governor should constitute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry(JCI) to look into the remote and immediate causes of the unfortunate incident.
In the statement signed by the chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), HURIDE,Dede Uzor A Uzor, said the Panel would be headed by a retired Chief Judge, with a Police Officer, a Military Officer, a legal practioner, a human right activist, President-General and Secretary of Oraifite community, two priests representing Catholic and Anglican churches as members.
The Panel, he said, should have the mandate to make recommendstions, abortion blames and suggestions on how to avoid future occurrence of such mayhem among others including the payment of compensation to the Police officers and others who lost their lives in the mayhem.
The group said the Panel should strive to ensure fair hearing from all the parties and individuals involved and recommend measures to avoid such unfortunate incident in future and prosecution of the culprits to serve as a deterrents to others who may engage in such man’s inhumanity to man again. Dede Uzor cautioned.