On Wednesday, May 23, the Senate took a significant step by passing a bill for a second reading that aims to compensate the victims of the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Act,” was introduced by Senator Bassey Gershom of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, representing Cross River State. In his opening statement, Senator Bassey highlighted that the bill’s objective was to establish the EndSARS Victims Compensation Fund.
Senator Bassey emphasized that the victims of the protest have been enduring the physical and emotional pain inflicted by hoodlums during the demonstrations. He expressed his belief that the establishment of the compensation fund and the implementation of the recommendations from the judicial panel of inquiry and the Senate Joint Committee on EndSARS would bring much-needed relief to the victims of the nationwide protests that took place in 2020.
Senate President Ahmed Lawan subsequently referred the bill to the Committee on Special Duties for further review and legislative input. The committee has been instructed to provide a report on the bill to the plenary within one week.
