A petitioner today before the on going judicial panel of enquiry sitting in Osogbo ,the osun state capital, has appealed to the members of the
Panel to prevail on the Nigeria police for a monetary compensation of the sum of N10million .
Chief Jelili Adegoke Rahim sought this relief today for what he described as unlawful beaten and harassment suffered from the overzealous acts displayed by a police officer who beat to a point of stupor in Osogbo.
Addressing the Justice Akin Oladimeji led panel,Chief Raheem insisted that he would do everything within the ambit of the law to ensure that the erring police officer is punished accordingly .
The petitioner similarly called on the Federal Government to support all States in Nigeria with a view to addressing unwholesome cases which over the years have been associated with police brutality, human rights violations and extra-judicial killings in different parts of the country.
Being led in evidence by his counsel during the hearing of the matter on Friday, the petitioner narrated how he was beaten mercilessly by one Mr. Ezekiel Dayo, a police officer serving in the State on 2nd of October, 2020.
He explained that the incident occurred around 10:00pm when he was exiting a motor-park at Oke-Baale, Osogbo, when the alleged officer furiously walked up to him and started slapping and beating him for no just cause, development which made him to be rushed to a nearby hospital.
In the beating and molestation melee that ensued for several minutes ,Chief Raheem further told the panel that he lost the sum of N100,000 .
According to him, he reported the matter to the Oja-Oba Police Divisional Headquarters, Oke-Baale, Osogbo, from where it was taken to the State Police Headquarters and later to Police Zonal Headquarters at Zone11, both in Osogbo.
“When I reported the matter at Oke-Baale Police Division and discovered that the erring officer refused to comply with the instructions given to him by the DPO to apologise formally to me, I took the matter to the Commissioner of Police through a letter from my Counsel. But when nothing was done, the matter was taken to Zone 11.
“But it is unfortunate that when I was at Zone 11, the members of the panel assigned to address the matter were requesting for N100,000, a move that I turned down immediately because to me, it was inhuman and unbecoming for someone who had been allegedly brutalised by the police to be asked to pay a bribe to get justice.
“As it is, I am demanding for a N10million compensation to cushion the effects of all I have lost” he added.
Chief Raheem used the opportunity to ask for an extension of the life span of the judicial panel of enquiry in Osun for another six months.
“I am appealing to our government to sustain this panel after the expiration of its six months in the interest of peace, unity and justice because immediately this panel is dissolved, many hopes would be lost by victims of police brutality,” he stated.
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