Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has rejected the directives by the National Economic Council (NEC), to state governors, urging the latter to set up judicial commission of enquiry to investigate alleged cases of police brutality and compensation to victims.
Wike who was a guest on AIT’s live programme on Friday morning, said it was not the responsibility of state governments to either set up a commission of enquiry to probe alleged atrocities by operatives of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria police.
He argued that the police is a sole creation of the federal government, whose liability could not be shifted to the states, particularly when it borders on gross human rights violations of Nigerians.
The governor noted that he had in the recent past lamented the criminal activities of SARS operatives, adding that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, paid no attention to his complaints.
Meanwhile, the NEC on Thursday, directed state governors to immediately establish state-based special security and human rights committee to supervise the newly formed police tactical units and all other security agencies.
The charge came against the backdrop of ongoing #EndSARS protests across the country, which resulted in the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, and its replacement by the Special Weapons and Tactical unit, SWAT.
This came on a day governors of the 36 states of the federation asked the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to fish out the policemen responsible for the deaths of protesters across the country.
Rising from its monthly meeting in Abuja yesterday, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, NEC also directed the immediate establishment of state-based judicial panels of Inquiry across the country to receive and investigate complaints of Police brutality or related extra-judicial killings, with a view to delivering justice for all victims of the dissolved SARS and other police units.
The Council specifically resolved that state governors and the FCT Minister should take charge of interface and contact with the protesters in their respective domains.
