Edo chief blinded by tear gas seeks compensation

A 70-year-old Edo chief, Clement Garuba, has urged the state panel of inquiry for into police brutality to compel the police to compensate him after tear gas left him blind on January 13 this year.

Garuba stated that life had been difficult for him since he became blind due to the negligence of the police officers.

He said, “We were having a meeting in our village in Ekpesa community, in the Akoko-Edo Local Government Area when some policemen stormed the gathering and shot tear gas into my eyes.

“The police also arrested my fellow chiefs and me and took us to the station where we were detained for three days

“Before the incidents, I was seeing with my two eyes, going to the farm and taking care of my nine children and my wife but now, I can’t. I am suffering.”

He said he decided to approach the panel for compensation, as well as invite the police officers who detained him and his fellow chiefs so that they could face the full wrath of the law.