STF tackles Police for granting cheap bail to Sara-Suka cult group

The re-occurrent activity of a cult gang, known as Sara-Suka, which has been terrorizing Jos metropolis in Jos-north local government area of Plateau state, was on Wednesday blamed on cheap bail granted to them by the police when arrested. This view was expressed by the Plateau Special Task Force Commander, Major General Ibe Nicholas.

Speaking to newsmen yesterday at their headquarters in Jos, Gen. Nichols said whenever the special task force apprehends members of the cult group and hand them over to the police for prosecution, the police would grant them bail with a parting token of about N3,000 notwithstanding the magnitude of their offense.

He said the activity of the deadly group has become worrisome as they brandish cutlasses whenever on rampage, killing innocent citizens and carting away their properties.

Angered by the ugly trend, the STF boss said he is working with the Attorney General of the state to stop the police from granting them bail, saying that “it has become a very serious challenge that when hoodlums are arrested instead of the police to do their dutiful of prosecuting them, they rather release them on bail and you see them on the streets again causing havoc.”
He added that the court should be given more strength to keep the hoodlums behind bars so that the society will be free from them.

Emploring other strict measures in dealing with the group, Gen. Nicholas said the STF will demolish the house of anyone found harboring their members.

His words, “If these Sara-Suka boys run into your house and you refuse to bring them out, we shall bring down your house; the people of Plateau state should be reminded that the state is still under emergency rule, because the presidency has not removed the clauses, so we shall be hard on those boys, as we shall not allow them to take us back to the days of incessant crisis.

“We have also gathered that there is a bus that ply Niger Republic every week to bring these boys, so we are working with the Immigration Service to ensure that this is put to a halt,” he said.

Daily Times gathered that sara-suka means ‘cut and kill’ and the activity of members of the cult that bear the name include rape, armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorism.

Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos