Rights Commission Moves To Probe State - Sponsored Killings

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Obasanjo's  letter, Rivers violence also SAN FRANCISCO, January 15, (THEWILL) -  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday moved to probe state-sponsored and extra-judicial killings in the country from 1995.

Already a five-man panel has been set up for this important assignment.

The commission also set up a three-man committee to investigate the lingering  crisis in Rivers State.

The decision to embark on the probe was arrived at the end of an emergency meeting of the governing council of the commission   in Abuja on Wednesday.

Chairman of the Commission's   governing council,  Dr.

Chidi Odinkalu, said the panel  would also investigate the allegation contained in the letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan wherein he accused Jonathan of training  snipers and placing 1,000 political opponents on watch list.

The council has therefore directed the Executive Secretary of the commission, Professor Ben Angwe, to call for a memorandum from Nigerians on state- sponsored killings from 1995 to date.

A statement issued at the end of the emergency meeting said the probe panel, which would be headed by the chairman of the commission' governing council,   Odinkalu, would not restrict itself to the allegations contained in the Obasanjo's letter but would "investigate every incident of state-sponsored killings from 1995 to date.

" Describing   the allegations contained in the Obasanjo's letter which was subsequently transferred to the commission from the Attorney General of the Federation as  "quite weighty and grave ", the commission said "they raise issues of serious and systematic violations of the rights to life, access to fair hearing and justice, personal liberty, safety and security, equality before the law and the prohibition against discrimination.

" The commission  also set up a three-man committee to investigate the continued crisis in Rivers State.