The Ebonyi Judicial Panel of Enquiry on Police Brutality has recommended the payment of compensation to the family of late Inspector Egu Omini, killed during the #EndSARS protest.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Alloy Nwankwo (retd), ordered the Federal Government to pay the compensation to the deceased’s family during Thursday’s sitting in Abakiliki.
Nwankwo decried the degeneration of the protest, which led to wanton destruction of property and killing of innocent Nigerians, especially police operatives.
He, however, did not mention the amount of compensation to be paid.
The wife of the deceased, Dodeye, said while testifying before the panel that the bereaved family demanded N20 million compensation to enable it to take care of their children.
She told the panel that her family had been going through difficult times since the death of her husband and breadwinner.
In an interview with newsmen at the end of the sitting, she expressed gratitude to God and the panel for the ruling.
Dodeye said: “My husband died while on duty.
“We are appealing to the federal and state governments to hear our cry and pay us the compensation.
“My children have dropped out of school and my first son, Godstime, is to write his Senior Secondary (SSIII) examination, but I could not afford the money to register him.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that suspected hoodlums, acting under the guise of EndSARS protest, on October 26, 2020, murdered Omini.
The hoodlums cut-off his manhood and also snatched his AK-47 rifle when they attacked a police station in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
Eighteen-year-old Godstime also reacted to the ruling, saying he was happy and hopeful that he would soon return to school to write his final examination.
He said: “I left school because my mother could not afford to register for my SSIII examination.
“It is my prayer and hope that the money would be paid by the government to enable me to go back to school.”
