Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in the Americas and United States of America (NIDO) has applauded the guilty verdict handed down to Derrick Chauvin, a former American Police officer who killed an African American, George Floyd, in May 2020.
In a press statement signed by NIDO Secretary, Dr Yinka Tella, on Wednesday, a day after the unanimous jury decision, the organisation said it was happy that justice had been served and called for peace and equity in the United States.
“Today is a good day for justice in America but we must not rest until persons of colour can enjoy the full benefits of their personhood and citizenship.
“NIDO expresses hope that the rare conviction of the police officer for the extra-judicial killing will lead to Police reforms that would ” scrubbed off all traces of institutionalized racism.
“We call for bi-partisan action on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act for a systemic overhaul of policing practices to eliminate knee jerk discrimination while fostering transparency and accountability,” the statement read in part.
The 45-year-old former Minneapolis Police officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with second-degree murder and two other charges after he was filmed with his knee on George Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes during an arrest in May last year.
The celebrated murder trial lasted for 6 weeks with Chauvin being found guilty on all three charges.
The Department of Corrections spokesperson, Sarah Fitzgerald said Derek Chauvin was taken to the Minnesota Correctional Facility, Oak Park Heights to await sentencing
He was put into the prison’s segregated housing unit for his own safety, the prison spokesperson added.
Judge Peter Cahill had on Tuesday said that Chauvin would be sentenced around the second week of June with a precise date to be announced later.
