Justice Veronica Umeh (Rtd), Chairman of the panel made
the observation at the commencement of Thursday hearing in
Awka.
Umeh said the panel had written the
Police Command in the state to send representative from their legal
department to sittings so they could react to some of the
allegations by petitioners.
We have written the Police Command to send their
legal representatives so that they can respond to issues,“ she
said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the panel
had sat four times including the inauguration day.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Mr
Bonaventure Mokwe, the owner of Upper Class Hotel,
Onitsha said his hotel was demolished on the day he was arrested by
personnel of disbanded SARS over trumped up allegation that he was
a ritual killer.
Mokwe alleged that the Police, who seemed to be acting
out a script, did not investigate the allegations against him
rather he was detained and tortured at Awkuzu SARS cell for two
months without trial.
He said trouble
started for him when Anambra government gave Ose Motor Park in
Onitsha which was near Mokwe park owned by him.
According to him, the levy charged by Onitsha indigenes
became unbearable for transporters and as a result they moved to
Mokwe park.
This made Onitsha youths attacked my park and
naturally I defended my property proportionately.
“Later on, the transporters went to court and
obtained judgement stopping Onitsha people from disturbing them at
Mokwe park.
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“Onitsha people considered it as an assault and
afront that I confronted them.
“Two weeks after the fight, my hotel was set up and
demolished by Anambra government,”he said.
Mokwe said the practice was that hotels submitted
guests manifest at the police station every 6:30 am in the morning
but the Police did not investigate to find out the truth before
hounding him into SARS.
He said the government of Anambra was deceived into
demolishing the hotel by powerful interest who felt slighted that
he fought and defeated them in their own community.
The hotelier
said he was detained in SARS custody for 60 days during which he
saw many extra judicial killings.
Mokwe claimed that he was tortured to coma and his
thumb forcefully made to make imprint on a pre-written statement as
a signature.
The chairman of the panel said it could not take his
oral narrative on his experience in SARS cell and directed him to
file an addendum petition on that aspect.
Umeh said the addendum petition should be submitted
before Nov. 26 so that police would be made to respond before his
next appearance.
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