By Tom Moses

UYO—The Special Investigation Panel on Oil Spill and Pollution in Nigeria has commenced sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to examine petitions and complaints from communities and organisations on oil spills and environmental degradation.

Chairperson of the panel, Mrs. Oti Ovrawah, said that of the 45 cases before the commission, 18 had been listed for hearing.

Ovrawah, in her welcome address during a public hearing at the Federal High Court Complex, Uyo, yesterday, said the panel, set up by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, was a fact-finding one to address complaints and peti-tions from communities and organisations in the region.

According to her, the panel was constituted to enable NHRC collate information and facts on allegations and complaints, noting that the panel was not a judicial body and would, therefore, not engage in judicial inquiries.

Ovrawah explained that the modalities to be applied by the panel would be devoid of judicial underpinnings and technicalities.