By Ukpong, Abuja
Following public outcry of the recent upsurge of extrajudicial killings by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), protesters on Thursday stormed the Police headquarters demanding immediate disbandment of the unit.
Daily Times gathered that notable among the protesters includes, the Presidential Candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), in the 2019 General elections, Omoyele Sowore, Co-Convener of Bring Back Our Girls Group, Aisha Yesufu and human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju among others.
READ ALSO: No FSARS official will be issued firearms henceforth except for violent crimes ― Imohimi
Speaking during the protest, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore said the unit has been consistent in killing innocent Nigerian youths for very flimsy excuses.
He, however, called on the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, to listen to the cries of Nigerians and take immediate steps to address the menace, not just by issuing public statements, but by taking necessary actions.
“A notorious unit of the Nigeria Police Force, created in 1992, has been engaging in systematic violation of human rights.
“We are asking the Police to scrap them because they claim they have banned them several times but, in the real sense, they have never being banned.”
He said that several Nigerian youths across the country have been killed by various FSARS officials for very flimsy excuses such as the refusal to surrender their personal phones to be searched by men of the unit as well as refusal to give bribes.
Daily Times gathered that another human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, said it is necessary for the Inspector General of Police to fully disband the unit, saying: “SARS guys, through their activities, are giving the Police a bad name.
“Nigerians have been killed daily by SARS operatives. They are everywhere, harassing, violating people’s rights and subjecting them to all forms of degrading treatments. Nigerians cannot continue to sit and watch. We must get involved and try to salvage our country, and that is the reason why we are here,” said Deji.
In response, the Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, assured the protesters that the IGP has shown concern about the outcry of Nigerians, explaining that measures have already been put in place to address their concerns.
“The Inspector General of Police has heard your voices very clearly even before this protest began, and that is why certain interventions were made over the weekend. As at the time those interventions were made, we had no idea that you people were planning to come out to the street. Yet the IG acted proactively.
“He dished our certain instructions that SARS operatives and other members of the tactical teams are not allowed to be on the road. He made it clear that no police officer will be allowed to come out on the road patrolling the streets or conducting stop and search in mufti. He made it very clear that no police officer is allowed to unlawfully and indiscriminately check the phones, computers and other smart devices of Nigerians.
“He went on to make it very clear that not only these policemen will be arrested but will be publicly paraded and prosecuted if found quilty and even the Commissioners of the State where those incident happened would be vicariously held responsible,” Mba concluded.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.