By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti

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The Ekiti State Panel of Inquiry into Allegations of Violations of Human Rights and Police Brutality sitting in Ado-Ekiti, has ordered the immediate prosecution of a police officer, Corporal Festus Akinfolarin, attached to the defunct Special Ant-Robbery Squad (SARS) Ekiti State.
The police officer was alleged to have played an active role in the killing of a teenage boy, Seun Awoyemi, in the state.
The panel headed by Justice Cornelius Akintayo (rtd), consequently ordered that the police officer should be detained and subsequently arraigned in a competent court of jurisdiction in the state.
He equally gave an order that the office of the Ekiti State Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice should handle the prosecution without further delay.
The panel also recommended that the 70-year-old mother of the deceased, Mrs Abigail Awoyemi, be compensated with N1.5million to cater for the wife of the deceased.
The panel also recommended that the police authority should release the corpse of the deceased, which was allegedly taken away from the scene of the incident to the mortuary by the SARS operatives to the family for proper burial.
Earlier, in her petition before the panel, Mrs. Awoyemi, had alleged that on the fateful day, the defunct SARS operatives stormed into her residence on the fateful day, while armed with weapons and dragged her grandson, Seun over allegation of minor misunderstanding between him and one of his friends.
She said all entreaties made to the police to release the 18-year-old boy proved abortive as the SARS operatives later hit him on the chest, during which the deceased fell and died on the spot.
She further informed the panel that several bullets shot by the defunct SARS operatives are still visible on the wall of her house till that moment.
“The report of the death of the victim was reported in some newspapers and tendered as exhibit before the panel,” she added.
The aged woman equally told the panel that the matter was also reported at the Department of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) section at the palace of Ewi in Ado Ekiti, where it was investigated while the report was tendered and admitted by the panel during cross-examination before the panel.
Similarly, counsel to the petitioner, Mr. Emanuel Afolayan, urged the panel to uphold the prayer of his client.
He submitted that all the evidences presented were before the panel was not challenged by the defendant, urging the panel to give justice appropriately.
Delivering his judgement, the chairman of the panel, Justice Cornelius Akintayo, (Retd) said the fact before the panel was not enough to link the officer with the death of the teenager.
The judge, however awarded a sum of N1. 5 million to the petitioner for the stress and pains she had gone through while he ordered the prosecution of the accused police officer.