Richard Ginika Izuora
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday, October 19, demanded the prosecution of 37 police officers indicted for human rights violations by a Presidential Panel on the Reform of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The demand was contained in a statement issued by the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, when he submitted the panel’s report to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), for implementation.
He also said the report contained the names of 37 SARS operatives.
Ojukwu said: “The commission expects the AGF to consider their prosecution in accordance with the law.
“The submission of the report to the AGF is a gratifying point to the commission which went round the six geopolitical zones of the country to listen to various complaints by Nigerians against the then SARS.
“There were discoveries and all were encapsulated in the report.”
Malami, in his response, stated that the government would implement the report; in such a way that justice will be served to all the parties concerned.
The AGF said: “Justice is not one-way traffic.
“We have a mandate to establish a constitutional order where the welfare and also peaceful co-existence of citizens are prioritised against personal or group interest.
“The current administration had in the past put modalities in place; to give the police personnel the support they need to improve their welfare as well as do their work professionally.”