How To Report Police Brutality In Lagos State, Nigeria (A Complete Guide)

Are you or anyone you know a victim of Police brutality in Lagos State, Nigeria?

Are you searching for how to write a petition against any Police officer that has harassed or extorted money from you?

This webpage is for you.

The Lagos State Government has instituted a Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to investigate all cases of Police assault and killings from Monday 26th of October till the next 6 months. Especially with regards to the Special Anti Robbery Squad aka SARS.

This was announced in a tweet by the Lagos State Governor, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, 23rd of October 2020.

What this means is that Police can no longer harass you in Lagos State and go scot-free. Unless you let it happen. You can now report the case by sending an email to the judicial panel detailing everything that happened and how it happened.

It also means that those who have been harassed in the past by officials of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) and Police in general, can now come forward to get justice. Including those whose relatives have been wrongfully jailed or killed.

You will learn how to do this below!

Guidelines On How To Report Police Brutality In Lagos State, Nigeria

If you, your family or friends have been victims of Police brutality in any part of Lagos State, Nigeria, here’s how to report the case to the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution.

1. Gather All The Evidences

Take your time and gather all the evidences together. Though you can report the case without the accompanying evidences, it won’t get as much attention as the ones reported with very clear evidences.

It may take a long while before the full investigations can be carried out. Thereby delaying the time it will take for you to get justice, if at all you will get it without those proofs.

So take your time and gather every evidence that can lead to quick investigation and prosecution of the said Police officers.

If you have images, videos and other types of documents that can explain what truly happened, do not fail to bring it forward when contacting the panel.

If you need the services of a lawyer to do this, feel free to get one.

2. Write To The Appropriate Authorities

Once you have gathered all the necessary proofs of what happened and how it happened, the next thing to do is to send a message to the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution.

You can do that using your personal email address (Gmail, Yahoomail etc.) or that of your family member, friend or lawyer.

The email address to write to is [email protected].

In the mail, you are expected to go straight to the point explaining in the details what truly transpired, where, when and how.

If you have the evidences of everything that happened with, do not fail to include it in your mail as attachments. This will help to process everything speedily.

3. Wait For The Panel To Investigate The Case Properly

Within a few days of receiving your mail, the panel will carry out a proper investigation of everything that happened between you and the Police officer. You may be updated with the progress of the case in your mail as time goes on or you may be invited to appear physically before the panel.

4. Appear Before The Panel When Invited

As soon as you receive an invitation from the panel to appear before it, prepare and do that immediately. On the meeting day, try as much as you can to comport yourself properly and go with all the evidences you have.

If you like, you may also go along with someone. Especially if this will help you feel relaxed and not show much signs of nervousness.

In Conclusion

The Lagos State Government has proven that the government is truly committed to helping everyone living within the state get justice wherever and whenever an ill is done against.

By setting up the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution, the government has shown that anyone who has been a victim of Police brutality, can justice without knowing anyone in power or paying a certain amount of money for it.

Are you searching for how to report offending Police officers in Lagos State, Nigeria?

I hope you find this information useful. You can also read about the New Nigerian Police Act 2020: How It Applies To You