A MOTION was due to be put before the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council last night (Tuesday) regarding the Noah Donohoe investigation.
Proposed by Independent councillor Eamon Keenan and seconded by another Independent councillor, Emmet McAleer, the motion asks that the Council supports the ‘Justice for Noah’ campaign.
“We echo the family’s call for the Chief Constable, Simon Byrne, to resign from his position over his failures and the failures of the PSNI under his watch in the mishandling of the investigation of Noah’s death. We send this request in writing to the Chief Constable,” the motion read.
“Fermanagh and Omagh District Council requests that there should now be a rigorous, open and transparent police investigation, where every avenue is explored, to get justice for Noah and his family.”
The motion also called on all politicians who currently sit on the Policing Board to leave the body in protest as “it is failing in its stated objectives, in this instance of being able to hold the PSNI to account”. This was due to the “unnecessary and contentious use of a PII (Public Interest Immunity) Certificate in this case”.
“Finally, we request that this motion is sent in writing to all other councils, North and South, as well as the relevant leaders of the political parties that sit on the Policing Board,” it concluded.
At a rally in Enniskillen last month, Council chairman Barry McElduff of Sinn Féin branded the Donohoe investigation ‘wrong and shameful’.
“There are many serious questions to be answered concerning every single aspect of Noah’s disappearance and the subsequent investigation or lack of investigation,” Mr McElduff said.
“In terms of the inquest and any other legal proceedings ahead, we all demand transparency if there is to be any credibility. Justice demands this.”
The 14-year-old St Malachy’s College pupil went missing after leaving his home in June, 2020, to meet friends at Cave Hill country park in north Belfast.
His naked body was found in a storm drain six days after he disappeared. A post-mortem examination found the teenager died by drowning.
The PSNI has argued that disclosing the information, which includes details on police methodologies and source handling, would damage national security interests.
The inquest into Noah’s death is scheduled to begin on November 28 and will run for three weeks.
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