…Demand justice from RSG on police action
From Blessing Ibunge, Port Harcourt
Mr Tamunodiepri Akalugo has pleaded with the Rivers State Government to obtain justice for his late 14 years old son, Emmanuel Tamunodiepri who was allegedly killed by the Police stray bullet in Oyigbo area of the state.
Tamunodiepri made the demand on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, before the Rivers State Judicial Commission of Inquiry into alleged acts of police torture, brutality, murder and violation of fundamental rights of citizens.
The father of the 14yrs old boy who said he is a gospel artiste, told the Commission that his son was killed at Oyigbo roundabout during the EndSARS protest in October this year.
He disclosed that his son who was in his SS2 in secondary school as at time of incident, was hawking satchet water before his sudden death following the stray bullet.
In his tears Tamunodiepri told the Commission “My 14 years old son Emmanuel Tamunodiepri was shot dead in October, 2020 during the EndSARS protest in Oyigbo. My wife sent him to go and sell pure water on the EndSARS day and he was hit by the police bullet.
“Emmanuel was 14 years. It is the police that killed my son. When we could not find him around our house on the EndSARS protest day, we started looking for him and in the process some I and my wife were told that we should check the roundabout.
I saw him lying dead in his pull of blood on the ground, we carried him home and later buried him.
“For my son career everything is lost, all my suffering is gone. Let the government fight and give justice over the death of my son. I gave everything to God,” he lamented.
It would be noted that the commission, led by Justice C. Uriri received 171 petitions.
According to the Chairman, during the Inaugural sitting, said the reason for the daily sitting is to meet up with the timeline for the submission of report to the state governor, Nyesom Wike within 60 days.
He said; “By the virtue of the terms of reference, time is of the essence. Consequently the panel shall sit on daily basis, precisely at 10 am.”
Justice Uriri stated that the vision of the Commission is “to do justice at all times to all manner of persons, irrespective of colour, age, religion, culture and tribes, downtrodden or not”.
He explained that the panel is a fact finding body separate and distinct from regular courts of law but with the ultimate responsibility to humanity adding, “it is enjoined by law to make its own rules for the effective administration of justice.
“The rules of the court are necessarily relaxed provided the old time practice of seniority at the bar is not diminished. So there shall be no strict adherence to the rules of evidence, the panel shall admit evidence, written and oral in so far as such is useful to humanity.”
Governor Nyesom Wike after initially rejecting the instruction of the Federal Government to states to set up Commission of Inquiries in their various states, to investigate the demands of the EndSARS protesters later inaugurated the panel.
Rives State was one of the states where the EndSARS protests held and later hijacked by hoodlums, who turned it into an orgy of violence with Oyigbo local government area of the state still living with the consequences of the attendant violence.
