Lagos State judicial panel on restitution for victims of SARS related abuses and other matters resumed sitting on hearing petitions brought before it in Lagos today by reserving it’s ruling to a date to be communicated in due course to both parties in the case of Olajide Fowotade vs the Nigeria police force even as the police counsel vehemently raised objection to the competence of the petition before the panel which he described as “two fighting” between a policeman who was not on official duty and was not a representative of the Nigeria police and the petitioner.

While the petitoner filed and adopted his final written address and urged the panel to grant the prayers of the petitioner for the assault on him by a police officer, the respondent objected to the panel hearing the petition on the basis that when the incident occurred, the said police man was not on official duty and hence was not a representative of the Nigeria police force but himself.

He urged the panel to discountenance the prayers of the petitioner and strike out the case.

The police counsel also objected to the final written address of the Lagos State government counsel as adopted and urged the panel to discontenounce the prayers in the address.

The panel in it’s ruling, noted that upon the adoption of final written address by counsels, reserved it’s ruling to a date to be communicated to counsels in due course.

The panel however was only able to conduct hearings into 2 other petitions out of the 9 slated for the day, due to the long time it took for the petitioners and witnesses in the two petitions to testify and be cross examined by counsels.

The Lagos State judicial panel sitting continues on Friday.