The panel of enquiry set up by the Enugu State Police Command in the wake of the alleged attack on a staff of the Women Aid Collective, WACOL, has indicted the non-governmental organisation.
DAILY POST reports that the panel’s report was submitted to the Enugu State Police Commissioner, CP Ahmed Abdurrahman at the State Command headquarters on Monday.
WACOL had alleged that policemen from the Abakpa Area Command invaded their office and beat up a female lawyer to stupor over ongoing investigation on a rape case the NGO reported to the police.
However, the panel in its report has now come out to say that investigation showed that no one was beaten up either at the WACOL office or at the Area Command.
The report was presented by a member of the panel, Barr. Onuora Okeke.
The panel accused the WACOL Director, Prof. Mrs. Joy Ezeilo of misleading the public with false information.
“Allegation of beating could not be substantiated. There was no form of beating or detention of any WACOL staff. No property of belonging to WACOL was also not destroyed,” the panel said.
It equally came hard on Ezeilo and the alleged victim of the said police brutality, Barr. Goodness for refusing to appear before the panel.
“Ezeilo’s action of not attending the hearing is most uncivilized; she issued press statements without cross-checking her facts,” they further stated.
It, however, said the policemen involved in the said incident acted with non-challance by not differentiating between arrest and invitation, stressing “the force on Goodness was unreasonable and avoidable.
“They carried out arrest as opposed to invitation.”
It recommended that the said policemen should be made to face full disciplinary measures.
More to come…
