Bayelsa inaugurates panel to investigate Opu-Nembe violence

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The Bayelsa State Government on Tuesday inaugurated a six-member Judicial Panel of Enquiry to investigate the violence that took place in the Nembe-Bassambiri village on February 15 and left three locals dead.

The Judicial Panel of Enquiry is being set six months after the incidence.

Justice Margaret Akpomiemie, a former Chief Judge of the state, will serve as the panel’s chairwoman, while Mr. Diepreye Omubo, a representative of the state Ministry of Justice, will act as secretary. Love Amaseimogha, Mrs. Josephine Igodo, Chief Fedude Zimughan, and Vining Goselle, a representative of the National Human Rights Commission’s Bayelsa office, are the other members.

The group has three weeks to do its task, which includes submitting a report of its conclusions to the government for the right course of action.

At the judicial panel’s inauguration at the Government House in Yenagoa, Governor Douye Diri stated that their mandate was to thoroughly investigate the underlying reasons of the unrest in Nembe-Basambiri that resulted in the fatalities on February 15.

Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Diri’s deputy, who attended the event in his place, said the panel’s chairman and members were carefully picked for their qualifications and depth of expertise to complete the important task.

According to Mr. Doubara Atasi, the media assistant of the deputy governor, “We are going to unearth the cause of the death and those responsible for the killings. This is necessary because every life is important.”