Victims of Police brutality beg Gov Otti to implement Panel’s directive
Victims of Police brutality and extra- judicial killings in Abia State have urged Governor Alex Otti to implement the payment of N511m compensation which they said, was awarded to them by Abia State government Panel of Inquiry in July, 2021.
The money according to the victims, were approved by the Panel of Inquiry set up by the Abia State government during the administration of former Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu but has remained unpaid till date.
According to them, the recommendations of the Panel were approved by the former administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu but were not paid until he left office.
The victims of Police brutality and extra-judiciary killings who addressed Journalists in Umuahia, said the Panel which was headed by former Chief Judge of the State, Justice Sunday Imo, also had former Abia State Solicitor General, Mrs Uzo Uche Ikonne as its Secretary.
Speaking about their travails, the Coordinator and Secretary of the Victims of Police Brutality in Abia State, Osita Nwabuko and Harrison Ikwue respectively, said that the unpaid N511 million compensation was approved for 46 of them out of the 86 victims that had applied to the Panel for justice.
They disclosed that they have already petitioned Governor Alex Otti and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa, pressing for the payment,
While their letter to governor Otti was dated 24th February, 2025, their letter to the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly was dated 9th October, 2025.
They claimed that Lagos, FCT Abuja, Osun, Ekiti, Rivers States, among other states which set up similar bodies, had paid their victims of Police brutality.
Nwabuko, who expressed the hope that Governor Alex Otti would direct the payment of the compensation, said, “Many of our members are homeless, very sick, some have died, some that died are still in the mortuary, because of lack of funds”,
Victims of Police brutality beg Gov Otti to implement Panel’s directive
