Reparations for Victims of Police Violence in Nigeria: Doctrinal Framework and Institutional Design

This study develops a doctrinal framework and institutional design for reparations for victims of police violence in Nigeria, addressing a critical gap in human rights scholarship in the aftermath of the #EndSARS movement and the unimplemented recommendations of judicial panels of inquiry convened across multiple states. Reparations are recognized under international human rights law as a core component of the right to remedy, encompassing restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-recurrence. The study draws on the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation, the ICCPR, and comparative reparations programs from Kenya, Colombia, and South Africa to develop a contextually grounded analytical framework. Doctrinal analysis examines the constitutional and statutory obligations underpinning the Nigerian state's duty to provide reparations for human rights violations by law enforcement. The research reviews the 13 judicial panel of inquiry reports submitted by state governments following the #EndSARS protests, systematically analyzing the nature of recommendations, compensation figures proposed, and the record of government implementation. Findings reveal near-total non-implementation of panel recommendations, absence of a centralized national victim compensation fund, and inadequate psychosocial rehabilitation provisions. An institutional reparations design, including an independent National Police Victims Reparations Fund governed by survivors and civil society, is proposed. Keywords: reparations, police violence, #EndSARS, victims' rights, institutional design.