The Oyo State chapter of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 And Beyond (ASCAB) has called on Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to speed up the constitution and inauguration of a Commission of Enquiry into abuse of rights in the state.
ASCAB, which is led by Femi Falana at the national level, made the call in a statement made available to journalists by its Oyo State Interim Secretary, Prof. Adenike Ogunshe, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
She emphasized that expediting the constitution and inauguration of the Commission of Enquiry would expose the abuse of rights during the #EndSARS protests in certain parts of the state and ultimately the compensation of victims.
According to Prof. Ogunshe, there were four fatalities in the course of the protest of those who succumbed to the the brutality of security personnel. The four peaceful and unarmed protesters killed by security agencies during the protests in Ogbomoso include Jimoh Isiaq, 20 years old, killed on Saturday, October 10, 2020, Ganiyu Moshood, 22 years old, killed on Sunday, October 11, 2020, Taiwo Adeoye, 25 years old, killed on Sunday, October 11, 2020, and ’Pelumi Olatunji, 15 years old, also killed on Sunday, October 11, 2020.
The cases of those killed, the group said, are being handled by Hussein Afolabi (Esq.) who is a member of the state’s chapter of ASCAB, while reports of grievous injuries or killings of protesters in other parts of the state are still being authenticated by ASCAB.
“In order for citizens and the Government of Oyo State to be on the same page, and our collective activities in moving the State forward to be synergistic, we must reiterate that, the use of lethal violence by the police against peaceful and armless protesters, and the public in general is, certainly unacceptable”, Ogunshe said, pointing out that most police arrests during public protests were often indiscriminately harmful with victims suffering humiliation and torture.
“Even, other Nations and foreign Agencies have unequivocally condemned excessive use of force by the military and law enforcement agents, in the current #EndSARS protest. In this regard, we request that the platforms for reporting past and present incidents of police brutality and injustice should be widely, and consistently publicised, and its Administrators should be required to give, at least, mandatory quarterly public reports,” Prof Ogunshe stated.
ASCAB, which was reacting to the governor’s statewide broadcast,also lauded him for his generally progressive responses during the #ENDSARS protests, pointing out that such responses included the withdrawal of cases against #EndSARS protesters and the release of those in police custody.
