Nigerians have been enjoined to submit complaints of human right violations encountered, witnessed or heard during the #EndSARS protest which rocked the country in October to a citizens’ panel set up to look into the matter.
A civil society group, the Alliance for Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) asked victims of human rights abuses to approach the panel set up by the coalition in the wake of the nationwide protests.
In a statement, the group led by civil rights defender, Femi Falana (SAN) asked Nigerians to come forward to submit reports of human right violations linked to #EndSARS. “The call is not restricted to victims who already submitted to panels set up by the government since outcomes and investigations might defer in form or content,” the statement added.
It said the Citizen Tribunal will enrich the investigations into the agelong abuses suffered by Nigerians in the hands of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARs).
ASCAB also wants victims to submit contact details of the petitioner, including name, residential and office address, functional numbers including WhatsApp number (if available) and email address.
It added: “The panel is to receive complaints from the general public of violations, before, during and after the #EndSARS protests across Nigeria. To this end, the panel hereby calls on the general public, especially families of those who lost their lives or who suffer one form of human rights violation or another.
“The complaints are expected to contain the names of the victim(s), date, time and place of violations, type of violation suffered, name of the perpetrator (if known), name of agency of the perpetrator and any action already taken in the matter.”
Falana said the ASCAB Citizen Panel is open to all Nigerians, including the media. He said the panel will employ best global practices to unravel the misery encountered by many victims of the disbanded anti-crime outfit.
