#EndSARS: State judicial panels kick off with red tape and no clear plan

About 28 state governments have formed a judicial panel to probe police brutality since the #EndSARS upheaval took off early this month.
Red tape, political patronage and unclear planning seem to be slowing the pace of work and may weaken the impact of these panels.
It is now more than a week since the Anambra government established a 32-person panel, but the panel has not yet sat once.
The panel wants the public to submit 10 physical copies of petitions regarding police brutality before November 3, but it has not announced when it will begin sitting to hear petitioners.
There appears to be no clear plan for how the panel will do its job and how long the probe will take.
Ondo’s judicial panel is made up of only eight people, but as in Anambra, petitioners must also cut through some red tape by submitting more than a dozen physical copies of their petition to state bureaucrats.
The deadline for submissions is November 16, but there is no date yet for the panel to start hearing cases even though the duration of this probe is set to six months.
The dynamic in Enugu is similar. The panel wants 12 physical copies of petitions, has not mapped out a schedule for hearing cases and prospective petitioners do not know when they will be heard.
In Cross River, the composition of the panel has drawn concerns about political patronage. A local nonprofit We the People says the governor Ben Ayade has handpicked his own friends.
Three of the seven people on the panel currently work for the governor, and that includes one of his political advisers. People do not know when the panel hearings will begin or what they intend to accomplish exactly.
States have demonstrated some support for the #EndSARS movement and creating these panels could initiate key changes, but a lack of clarity and efficiency could get in the way of any policing reform. Appointing people for their political links instead of relevant competence also weakens the integrity of the panel and may produce the wrong outcomes.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Africa
Kenyan police arrest opposition politicians, tear-gas anti-Ruto protesters
Kenyan police fired tear gas and arrested several senior opposition politicians as hundreds protested against President William Ruto.

NationWide
78 million children risk water-related crisis in Nigeria: UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 78 million children in Nigeria are at risk of three water-related threats.

World
Russia-Ukraine War: Putin visits captured Ukrainian territory Mariupol
President Vladimir Putin visited Mariupol, a Ukrainian territory now in Russian hands.

Africa
South Africa arrests 87 ahead of anti-government protest
South African security forces on Monday said 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours across the country over public violence.

World
Finland named happiest country worldwide sixth time in row
According to the survey, war-torn Afghanistan and Lebanon remain the unhappiest countries.

Politics
Chimaroke Nnamani dumps PDP after losing senatorial election
Chimaroke Nnamani, representing Enugu-East senatorial district, says he has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).