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Ekiti Pays Compensation to ENDSARS Victims

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Ekiti Pays Compensation to ENDSARS Victims
L-R: Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers/ Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi; a petitioner at the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Allegations of Human Rights Violations Against Police Officers including officers of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mr. Bode- Gboyega Olutope; Ekiti State Deputy -Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi; Panel Chairman, Justice Cornelius Akintayo; Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapounda; during the presentation of monetary compensation to victims of ENDSARS in Ado-Ekiti…on Monday.

Ekiti State Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi has made a case for the recognition and compensation of victims of crime as critical stakeholders in the administration of criminal justice system in the country.

The governor spoke during the presentation of cheques to victims of police brutality and ENDSARS protest in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.

The compensation amount varied depending on the gravity of claims by the victims, and was based on the recommendations of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Allegations of Human Rights Violations Against Police officers including officers of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the state.

The panel headed by Justice Cornelius Adetayo was set up in the wake of the ENDSARS protest last year, and was given six months to look into cases of human rights violations and make appropriate recommendations to government.

L-R: A petitioner at the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Allegations of Human Rights Violations Against Police Officers including officers of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mrs. Ogunleye Yetunde Ajayi; Ekiti State Deputy -Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi; Panel Chairman, Justice Cornelius Akintayo; Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapounda; during the presentation of monetary compensation to victims of ENDSARS in Ado-Ekiti…on Monday.

At the event, Governor Fayemi observed that the judicial system most often get engrossed with the offenders at the detriment of the social, financial, psychological and physical damage suffered by the victim of crime.

While presenting cheques to the first batch of 25 petitioners, Dr Fayemi said the gesture was to provide remedial measures for some of the cases of grave human rights violations brought about by the abuse of police powers as well as the violence, loss of lives and destruction of property occasioned by the protest.

Dr Fayemi explained that his administration decided to award compensation to victims of the protest before the expiration of the six months tenure given to the judiciary panel, to set in motion processes and systems that would continue to guarantee an effective and appropriate redress for victims.

To further strengthen the equitable dispensation of justice and provision of remedy for victims of crime in the state, Dr Fayemi disclosed that his administration was poised on reviewing the state criminal law with a view to ensuring that victims are recognized as important stakeholders in criminal justice system.

READ ALSO: Cargo Airport: Ekiti Pays N500m In Compensation to 700 Land Owners

The governor also disclosed that his administration has published a charter for victims of crime in the state and it is in the process of ensuring that all state justice institutions, relevant government departments and security agencies mainstream the charter into their operations.

The charter, according to him, clearly stated government policy on how victims of crime should be treated and supported to ameliorate the effect of the injury inflicted on them during the crime.

He further announced that the State House of Assembly has commenced a review of the Ekiti State criminal Code Law with the aim of ensuring that the interest of an offender does not over ride that of the victim of the offence.

Dr Fayemi also expressed the readiness of his administration not only to make justice accessible to all but also to actively participate in the ongoing national agitations and conversation on police reforms.

He said: “At the inauguration of the Judicial Panel of inquiry into Allegations of Human Rights Violations Against Police officers including officers of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, I assured victims of abuse of police powers that they will get justice irrespective of their economic status, ethnic background, gender or any other difference. I also said that any police officer that suffers rights violation in the course of duty would get justice. I am pleased that we are able to honour this commitment today.

“My administration recognizes that enforcing the rights of victims require efficient institutions without which our laws and policies may not be sustainable. The Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice are important institutions in this regard. One of our strategic goals for the administration of justice is to have an adequate network of accessible and service-oriented courts across all communities in Ekiti State.

“May I once again formally apologise to all the victims of rights violations as recognised by the Judicial Panel for the hurt they experienced and the loss that they suffered. It is my hope that this monetary compensation will contribute to repairing your financial loss and other psychological and physical injuries that you have suffered. Please accept my very best wishes as you continue the process of rebuilding your lives.”

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Judicial panel, Justice Cornelius Akintayo commended the state government for implementing the recommendations of the panel.
He added that aside from monetary compensation, the panel also recommended the employment of some of the petitioners to provide a permanent remedy for the injury they suffered in the cause of the protest.

One of the petitioners, Mr Olugbolade Cole who spoke on behalf of others, commended the governor for his swift response to the petitioners’ cries for justice via a timely implementation of the panel’s recommendations.

Cole, a practising journalists said he and the other petitioners felt greatly relieved by the government’s gesture in addition to the justice that was done to their cases.

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Bisi Akande Drags Obasanjo Into Bola Ige’s Murder

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By John Michael Ojo

Bisi Akande, a former governor of Osun State, has alleged that the administration of  former President Olusegun Obasanjo was responsible for the brutal killing of erstwhile Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige.

Akande stated this while appearing  on Edmund Obilo’s podcast, State Affairs, where he also claimed that a friend Oluwole Rotimi, had given a hint on the impending danger if the deceased resigned from President Obasanjo’s government.

When asked to speak on the incident, the former interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said: “One evening, he (Ige) called me and said he was going to resign from this government tomorrow. It was sudden, and I said, ‘Please sir, I will come back to you.’ I called Oluwole Rotimi, and said this is what your friend told me: that he was going to resign from Obasanjo’s government tomorrow.

READ ALSO: South-West Governors, Tinubu, Akande, Akinrinade, Others To Meet Over State Of The Nation

“He asked me to advise him not to resign because if he does, he is likely going to die—he said that to me on the phone. I called Uncle (Ige) and begged him not to resign.

“He said he had talked to Wole Soyinka and Bola Tinubu, and both of them said he should resign. But I said, ‘Don’t. You can go to Obasanjo, tell him what you are angry about, and if he doesn’t want you anymore, here is your letter.’”

Akande who also claimed that Ige,  a Second Republic Governor of  Oyo State had issues bordering on trust with the then President said “Since he was resigning from his government, I think he stopped trusting him.”

However, Akande who was the governor of a neighbouring state when Ige was assassinated in Oyo State on the 23rd of December 2001, failed to provide names of those he felt were directly involved in the murder case.

“I don’t know. He was killed in Oyo State while I was ruling in Osun State. The government killed him (Bola Ige). It was a state murder.

“Lam Adesina, who was the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State then, went to court, and Ladoja withdrew the case from court. He might know more and be able to tell you.

READ ALSO: Adebanjo Wants EFCC To Probe  Sources Of Wealth Of Tinubu, Akande

“It was the government that killed him, and the government can kill anybody.

“Obasanjo wasn’t keen about Ige’s death; he was more interested in the stability of himself,” Akande maintained.

 

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LG Election: Opposition Parties On Holiday, APC Remains Party to Beat – Abiodun

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My Dad Asked Me To Prioritise Civil Servants, Pensioners, Teachers - Abiodun
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has declared that based on the performance of his administration in the last five years, opposition parties are clearly unpopular and invisible in the forthcoming local government election.

The governor added that the quality of candidates the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is presenting in the election would make it the party to beat with landslide victory in all the 20 Local Government Areas of the State.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, over the weekend, Prince Abiodun explained that his administration has changed the hitherto volatile political environment in the state and made it conducive for opposition parties to operate without hindrance or intimidation.

According to him, instead of the primordial machinery of intimidation, his administration has dwarfed the opposition parties in the state through sterling performance and creative ideas for development.

Governor Abiodun, therefore, urged members of APC in the state to show more commitment and work in harmony to sustain the feats already attained in the past years and ensure resounding victory during the November 16 local government poll.

“With the quality of candidates our party is presenting in the forthcoming local government election in the State, APC remains a part to beat; we have assiduously and consistently made remarkable impacts in the life of our people and this is indeed our selling point.

“Without going through the primordial route of physical intimidation of opposition parties, our administration has obviously silenced them by our intimidating projects, creative ideas and prudence, which have earned us a leading status among other federating units.

“It is now incumbent on every APC member across the 20 Local Government Areas to sustain the enviable feats our party has recorded in the last five years by showing more commitment and work in unison for the victory of our party come November 16,” Abiodun said.

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LP Chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo Disagrees With Peter Obi

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LP Chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo Disagrees With Peter Obi

By John Michael Ojo

Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the Labour Party who doubled as the party’s spokesman during the 2023 general elections has accused the party’s chairman, Julius Abure of corruption and mismanagement of the party’s fund.

Okonkwo, a Nollywood Actor turned politician disclosed this on Tuesday via microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

He also alleged that the LP’s national convention organised by the Abure-led National Working Committee lacked merit in its entirety.

While distancing himself from the embattled party’s chairman, he wrote: “I am suspending my relationship in all ramifications with the purported Abure-led National Working Committee of Labour Party.“

For me, it’s either a new Nigeria or nothing. I prefer to lose doing the right thing to winning doing the wrong thing.

“Nothing can wash out the criminality, corruption, and incompetence with which the purported Natokoional Convention was purportedly organised by Abure.

“I did not leave the comfort of a ruling party, APC, because I believe that they are incompetent and dishonest, only to come and join another incompetent and corrupt association, which is the current Abure-led National Working Committee of Labour Party.”

Okonkwo’s claim is coming barely days after the presidential candidate of party, Peter Obi drummed support for the Abure-led NWC.

Obi who was viewed as a favourite in the build-up of the presidential election came a distant third behind former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

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