'The torture was just too much': Lagos hearings
Nigerian officials began hearing claims of police brutality on Tuesday (October 27), a core demand of weeks of protests that have seized the country.
According to authorities, at least 13 states established judicial panels to hear complaints.
Independent investigations were a central push of protesters who successfully demanded the end of a widely feared police branch called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The judicial panel first heard claims of police violence from several years ago.
In Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, Okoliagu Abudike, a father of five, sought justice for what he said was a 47-day detention in 2012 at the hands of SARS officers, after his boss accused him of theft.
He said he bled profusely and lost two teeth as officers beat and tortured him.
"The torture was just too much, they suspended me, they tore my clothes, used my singlet, hang on my neck, put up a bucket of cement that bended me like this, a lot of things. I still have some scars all over."
After roughly 30 minutes of testimony and questions, the eight-member panel said it would rule on Abudike's case within 7 to 10 days.
The demonstrations turned violent on Oct. 20 when witnesses said the military opened fire on peaceful protesters.
The army said it was not there.
The Lagos panel has yet to receive complaints from the recent shooting incident, but the Chair Justice. .
said it would fully investigate it, though declined to say when.
The panel will sit for six months.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high across Nigeria, with sporadic shooting in parts of Lagos and looting nationwide.
