By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
The Clan head of Imiakebu Community in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Chief Ugheiemhekhia Kareem Yahaya, Azamanodu II of Imiakebu, yesterday, appeared before the Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of SARS and related abuses to seek for financial compensation to the tune of N50 billion.
The money is for the compensation for the five youths who were allegedly murdered by the Deputy Police Officer of Agenebode, John . E. Agaga in his community.
The incident was said to have happened on December 28, 2019.
He asked for N50M compensation each for five of them who were wrongfully detained at the state police command for two days.
Chief Yahaya also asked the panel to compel the police officer to release the bodies of the slain youths to their families to enable them give them a befitting burial rites just as he called for the redeployment of the police officer, SP John. E. Agaga from the community noting that his presence in the community still a potential threat to them all.
Yahaya who appeared before the panel alongside the survival of the dastardly shooting, listed the diseased as follows: Sabo Abacha, Garuba Shaka, Sunday Augustine, Isaac John and Sunday Junior.
Addressing newsmen shortly after appearing before the panel, councel to the petitioners, Kami Asunogie, said it was a conflict between two communities, brother and sister, named Imiakebu and Isiuku in Etsako East Local Government Area of the state under the jurisdiction of the police station in Aganebode.
Asunogie alleged that the DPO, came into the community, killed five youths under five minutes between 12:30 and 12:45 that he was in his village.
He also alleged that the police abandoned their bodies having killed them and that it was the military that came to take the bodies to the mortuary with the assistance of the people of the local community.
The councel said up till today, every attempt to seek justice has been resisted by the DPO himself and their bodies have since been kept by the police.
“We have come to this panel to seek for justice. The bodies of our youths that were killed, have to be released to us for burial.
” They have been in the morgue since December 2019. It is the DPO that is keeping them.
“We want compensation for our community. Those persons, have relations, and, they must be compensated.
“Just for being present and waiting for an address for their village heads. They have no reason for killing them”, he said.