EndSARS Protest: APC Withdraws Petition Sent To Judicial Panel
—As Wife of murdered victim testifies in court
The All Progressives Congress, APC, Akwa Ibom State Chapter has withdrew a petition file before the Judicial Panel Investigating Police brutality and human rights violation in the State.
The party had in a petition no JPPB/MEMO/050 filed by it Counsel, approached the Panel to complain about the vandalization of it properties at the party State Secretariat by hoodlums during the October 22 EndSARS Protest.
Represented by it Counsel, Ubong Offiong Esq, the party had filled against the State Government to the Panel and urged the Panel to recommend payment of compensation.
However, when the party could not convinced the Panel to include destruction of properties (both private and public) as terms of reference, it had to withdraw the petition as the “Panel was not the right place to file such petition”.
Following the application for the withdrawal of the petition by it Counsel, the Panel presided over by Hon. Justice Ifiok Ukana, struck it out.
Speaking, Counsel to the party said that since terms of reference of the Panel could not accommodate destruction of properties, the party has no option than to withdraw the petition.
Meanwhile, wife of a father of two children, Mrs Idorenyin Augustine Effiong whose husband allegedly died in Police custody on November 1, 2019, entered the witness box to testify how her husband was killed in cold blood.
Mrs Effiong who told the Panel how her husband was arrested by SARS operatives led by one Inspector Francis Isokpong on October 28, 2019, noted that her late husband was denied bail for several days despite serveral assurances only to be called by the police and informed that her husband died of spiritual attack.
She said “my husband left home on October 28,2019 and did not come back. I tried to call his phone number but was switched off. I was later told that he was arrested and detained at the State Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia without any allegations against him. When I and family members visit the police headquarters, we were denied access to him and bail”.
She noted with sadness that she and the family members were denied access to the corpse for autopsy and the corpse has not been released for burial more than one after his murder.
The said Inspector Francis Isokpong who was in then Panel and the representative of OC legal, were yet to open their defense as at the time of filing this report.
