Rivers has said that since the police are not part of its state government , it will not compensate victims of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The state asked the police or their officers to compensate the victims. It took the decision after the five-man committee set up by the state Governor Nyesom Wike to formulate a draft white paper on the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that investigated brutality and violation of fundamental human rights of citizens by the SARS in the state, submitted its report to the Executive Council at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.
Briefing journalists after the council meeting presided over by Governor Wike, Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor (SAN), said the state should not bear the burden because the police were not part of the state government.
“ The Executive Council has already accepted the conclusion of the White Paper Committee that compensation payable to victims of police brutality should be paid by police officers, who were found culpable or by police authorities because in law, there is no way you can hold the state (Rivers) accountable for the acts of police officers, who are not agents of the state.
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“As far as the issue of compensation is concerned, any compensation payable should be paid either by the police officer involved in those acts of brutality or by the Nigerian Police Force,” Adangor started.
The attorney-general explained that the Executive Council also directed his office to liaise with the judiciary in ensuring that quarterly reports were submitted to his office in respect of the provision under the administration of Criminal Justice Law.
According to him, some of those provisions require that on a monthly basis, the commissioner of police informs the attorney general about the number of persons held in police custody and the reasons therefore.
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