Police withdraws suit against #EndSARS panels of inquiry

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has applied to withdraw the suit it filed against the judicial panels of inquiry set up by all state governments to probe allegations of police brutality and human rights abuses.
The police had filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja praying that the panels be stopped because they violated the provisions of section 241(1)(2)(a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Constitution and Section 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act.

The NPF’s counsel noted that only the federal government retains the exclusive power to control and administer the Force according to the provisions.

The suit earned the police backlash across Nigeria on Thursday, December 3.

By nightfall, police Inspector General Mohammed Adamu denied he had been briefed about the suit and announced that the Force Legal Officer has been queried and “may face further sanctions if found guilty of dereliction of duty.”

The Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has directed immediate investigations into a suit purportedly challenging the legality of the States’ Judicial Panel of Inquiry, investigating allegations by citizens against officers of the defunct SARS.

— Nigeria Police Force (@PoliceNG) December 3, 2020

In a notice of discontinuance filed by Festus Ibude, a police counsel, the Force said it wished to withdraw the suit against all the defendants.

The panels of inquiry were set up in the wake of the #EndSARS protests which grounded the nation’s economy for a fortnight.