#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

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

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.”

Abuja
FCTA crushes 601 impounded motorcycles in Abuja
Mr Magawata stated, “They are criminals; they are armed robbers, and they use motorcycles to kidnap innocent residents.’’

States
Ibom Air resumes flights to Enugu May 4
Ms Essienette said Ibom Air appreciated the patience and understanding of their esteemed passengers during the service disruption.

Rights
Award-winning U.S. news executive visits Nigeria for week-long engagement with media CEOs
From May 3 to 10, former U.S. news executive Stacia Philips will visit Nigeria for a U.S. ‘Speaker Program on Journalism Innovation and Sustainable Media Business’.

NationWide
Shippers’ council urges port users to complete online registration
The NSC boss said the online registration represented a significant milestone in the council’s journey toward digital transformation

Showbiz
Actor, Okey Bakassi, appointed traditional ruler in Imo community
Mr Okey is expected to preserve cultural heritage, promote development, maintain peace and security.

Lagos
Court remands man over alleged sexual harassment of 13-year-old boy
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 262 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.