After so many complaints of the abuse of power by the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), acting President Yemi Osinbajo has directed the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to, with immediate effect, shut down the Squad.
The order follows persistent complaints and reports on the activities of SARS that border on allegations of human rights violations, which is after many months of online and street outcry of the #ENDSARS campaign.
In a statement signed on Tuesday by his Osinbajo’s media aide, Laolu Akande, the IGP has been instructed to ensure that any Unit that will emerge from the process, will be intelligence-driven, restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery, kidnapping, apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences, and nothing more.
A statement from Laolu Akande, the media aide of the acting president, reads;“Following persistent complaints and reports on the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that border on allegations of human rights violations, His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Acting-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, has directed the Inspector General of Police to, with immediate effect, overhaul the management and activities of SARS and ensure that any unit that will emerge from the process, will be intelligence-driven and restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery and kidnapping, and apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences, and nothing more”.
Read the full statement below
The #EndSARS campaign Chief, Segun Awosanya who also confirmed the report, wrote;
“We WON Guys! #EndSARS #ReformPoliceNG @julietkego @Tutsy22@DrJoeAbah Time to build a new. The #NewNigeria is real. Congrats to @PoliceNG as we begin to reform. Out with the Old and welcome the New. #OsinbajoDelivers
“Thanks @yemusan1 @koredebello @RuggedyBaba @fodewunmi@ChubaEzeks @Iykepfs @DrArowoloAyoola @ikehiemma and all the great people out there that have been contributing daily in the past one year. Now to focus on monitoring sustainably #ReformPoliceNG
“The Devil is in the details. The implementation of the order is key. We will remain vigilant as we press on to ensure effective monitoring. Humans are weakest at the point of success but we must understand that success by itself is a journey & never a destination”.
Below are some Twitter comments COLOSSSUS GISTS gathered:
@Osascruz, ”As Acting President, first the sacked the DSS Boss for the invasion of National Assembly. Now ordered for the overhaul of SARS with immediate effect. 2weeks, 2 Great Actions.”
@YemieFASH, ”We should all commend Acting President @ProfOsinbajo on this one. He has given a Presidential Directive for the overhaul of SARS.”
@CACCOT1, ”He ordered the sack of DSS boss last week (Lawal Daura), he ordered the overhaul of SARS this week. He was able to achieve this feat because his boss went for 10 days holiday! May you not journey with people who will rubbish your intelligence because of money, fame or power.”
@Kelvin_Odanz, ”If you’ve ever tweeted for the #ENDARS campaign, your tweets were not in vain. The victory is finally here.Next is to get justice for those who lost their lives to rogue lawless members of the now “defunct” SARS.”
@sire_liljosh, ”Prof. Osibanjo sacked the DG of DSS for ‘abuse’ of power. He has also directed the IGP of Police to, with immediate effect, overhaul the management and activities of SARS. Everything always seems to work when Baba Bubu is not around.”
@kaybest, ”Am I the only one that thinks ending SARS now is just scope? Have we not been shouting for more than a year now? Why is it for months to the election? Stay as woke as possible.”
@RovielOG, ”My fellow Nigerians, it’s has gotten to the period of enjoyment, our suffering will reduce because they have started campaigning.
SARS would be scrapped. NEPA will give us light and forget to come for the bill
Fuel price will reduce, Salaries would be paid early. In all these Stay woke.”
@Virus_pluto, ”My people, brace yourselves and get ready for a new Nigeria. They’ll go from SARS to armed robbers….most of the SARS are going keep their guns.”
@iamwhunee, ”I’d have honestly preferred the Ag President to sack the current IG of Police, appoint another one and give him the task of overhauling the SARS because from past occurrences, this IG isn’t the one who obeys order giving to him but we move all the same. #EndSARS.”
@iam_bola, ”I refuse to fall for any of these. This government knows what They’re doing, Reform Sars, Increased NYSC allowance Allawee, plus minimum wage too. Its a scam for 2019.”
@sire_liljosh, ”Prof. Osibanjo sacked the DG of DSS for ‘abuse’ of power. He has also directed the IGP of Police to, with immediate effect, overhaul the management and activities of SARS. Everything always seems to work when Baba Bubu is not around.”
The #ENDSARS campaign has been branded 'politically motivated' and the police claim criminals are behind the campaign but it appears the world is watching. The trending issue featured on BBC and below is how they reported it...
An online campaign against police brutality has gone viral in Nigeria.
The hashtag #EndSARS started trending over the weekend after a post claiming a young man was shot by the police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as Sars.
On Saturday, a user with the handle @YabaKid claimed to have seen officers from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad shoot a boy in the head in front of him.
The user had been tweeting with the hashtag #EndSARS for many months but in the past few days thousands of others have responded with their own stories of police brutality.
Many claimed to have been held at gunpoint, arrested without charge, forced to pay bribes and even shot by officers from the unit.
Well-known musician Simi claimed she and a group of friends were held at gunpoint by Sars officers for - as she put it - “laughing”.
Thousands of Twitter users are now calling for the unit to be disbanded.
In response to the campaign, the inspector general of police said he had ordered a complete re-organisation of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
He also called for an “instant investigation” into all the allegations and complaints levelled against the unit.
On Monday, the Senate asked its ad-hoc committee on Review of National Security Infrastructure to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Commenting on the matter, Senate President Bukola Saraki observed that “it is clear that something wrong is going on and needs urgent attention. It is happening in all our constituencies. We must be seen to be responsive to some of these needs”.
The motion to investigate SARS followed a point of order raised by Senator Isa Misau of Bauchi Central who was a former police officer himself. Pointing to the need to revise the duties of the dreaded police unit, Senator Misau noted that while the majority of officers and men of the Nigeria Police were supposed to be persons of integrity, those under the SARS division have proven to be an exception. In Misau’s words, “it is dangerous for us to have a unit of the police force to act as if it is above the law and empowered to so behave”.
The call for an end to SARS gained much traction on social media over the past week as many Nigerians revealed their various ordeals with the Police unit. Most of the horrid accounts shared bothered on harassment and humiliation, fatal injuries and death, making it imperative that urgent action be taken with respect to the continued existence of the outfit as part of a law enforcement organ of a democratic government.
As the representatives of the people, it is the duty of the Senate to ensure that the security of all citizens is not in jeopardy and that the dignity of all persons is not violated in the name of aggressive crime fighting. There are four major points of focus for the Senate on this matter:
WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF REFERENCE OF SARS?
Judging by its name, SARS is supposed to be an “anti-robbery” squad and it can be conceded that robberies are to be worried about in neighborhoods across the country. However, SARS are known to also go after kidnappers, cultists, advanced fee fraudsters and any other persons whom they may perceive as having committed a form of criminality. The Senate should determine the unit’s justifications for reaching beyond their specification as a unit specialized against robbery. Their inclination to cause mayhem could perhaps have something to do with their inability to restrict themselves to the duty of anti-robbery. But if SARS are empowered to capture kidnappers, assassins and ritual killers – a group of crimes which one could say require matching brutality with brutality – then what are the checks in place to limit the possibility of abusing their powers?
ARE OFFICERS TRAINED ON HUMAN RIGHTS?
This is perhaps a question that should be asked of all law enforcement agencies in Nigeria, from the NSCDC and Road Safety Corps, to the Police. But given the particular brutality with which SARS are known to treat persons they detain and those they harass on the streets, it should be required of the Inspector General of Police and the other officers in charge of the squad to show that SARS personnel are adequately trained to respect and uphold the dignity of all persons they interact with. Going by the evidence of the testimonies of torture against them, it is safe to say this does not appear to be the case.
SARS: RANK POLICE OFFICERS OR MERCENARIES?
Senator Misau, while moving the motion on the investigation of SARS, noted that the squad was one of 14 units under the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of every police command, reporting to the commissioner of police in each state. However, SARS men do not wear the usual police uniforms which have the names and numbers of officers visible to the public. This makes it uneasy to be able to report such persons when they offend. Most, if not all, of the SARS officers were plain black vests without the usual insignia that appear on other police uniforms. Questions should be asked on why theirs should be different, especially if they are going to stand on the highway and interact with ordinary citizens.
For the police to be seen as the friend of the public, there needs to be a safe space for interaction and that cannot happen if the identity of the SARS officers is concealed. Unless SARS personnel are mercenaries and not rank police officers, in which case it would be important to investigate why that is the case.
DOES NIGERIA TRULY NEED SARS?
It will probably be a waste of time if the Senate’s ad hoc committee does not at least push the authorities of the Police Force to provide strong justifications for not scrapping SARS. After the atrocities revealed against the unit, it definitely cannot be business as usual. The protestation by Police PRO Mr Jimoh Moshood that SARS is doing “fantastically well” does not hold water because there is ample evidence that they are also causing many abuses and striking much fear in the minds of the public.
SARS may have been able to get away with some of its dark arts before but in the age of social media where public acts could be captured on video, the Police must prove that it can sufficiently reform the SARS to upgrade to modern policing standards or be retired as having lost its purpose.
A project tracking officer at BudgIT Nigeria, Moses Motoni is to be released by the police after he was granted bail.
Motoni was allegedly arrested by SARS operatives over offences believed to be related to BudgIT’s activities on the #EndSARS protest on Nigeria’s social media community.
However, the police denied Motoni was arrested by SARS operatives, but was arrested by a Police team for inciting a public disturbance.
A statement on Nigeria Police Force’s Facebook page, said, “Moses Motoni is alive, healthy and in good condition. He was not arrested by SARS Operatives and he’s being granted bail.
“Mr. Moses Motoni was not arrested by SARS Operatives but by a Police Team on the case of Inciting Public Disturbance reported against him which occurred on the 1st and 2nd of December, 2017 at Gbako, Tandzun and Bida Villages on Federal Constituency Project.
“The matter is under investigation as Mr. Moses is been released on Bail. The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP JIMOH MOSHOOD visited him.
“Subsequently, Moses has been asked to reach out to his office and relative to come take him on bail.”
A fake Commander of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS), Kenneth Obunwa, and a fake officer of F-SARS, Oluwagbenga Abe, have been arrested in Rivers State by the authentic operatives of Akin Fakorede-led F-SARS and they will soon appear in court.
Obunwa, an indigene of Egi in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State and Abe, who hails from Ijero-Ekiti in Ekiti State, both married with children, were arrested Tuesday morning by operatives of F-SARS at Igwuruta near Port Harcourt in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers state.
A landlord in Igwuruta, Mr. John Onwaduegbo, told our reporter Tuesday evening in Port Harcourt that Obunwa and Abe, who he said introduced themselves as operatives of F-SARS, came around 9 p.m. on Monday to the house of Pastor Moses Finan and held him (Finan) and his younger brother, Silas Lohsing, hostage for some hours and extorted money from them, brandishing a machete.
Onwaduegbo insisted that he saw Obunwa with the machete, which Abe said he was always keeping in his Volkswagen Golf car, which was still at the headquarters of F-SARS in Port Harcourt, as at the time of filing this report.
Obunwa and Abe, who claimed to be members of Kaduna-based Vigilante Group of Nigeria, while separately speaking with our reporter in Port Harcourt, stated that in the last six months, they had been involved in voluntary night security job in Igwuruta, claiming to be known by the area’s monarch and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Igwuruta Divisional Police headquarters, having earlier arrested many armed robbers and other criminals in the area, who they claimed were handed over to the DPO.
Rivers Commander of F-SARS, who is also a lawyer, while speaking on the arrest, disclosed that at 7 a.m. Tuesday, F-SARS received a distress call that Obunwa and Abe, who claimed to be operatives of F-SARS, accosted Pastor Finan and his younger brother and subjected them to thorough search in their compound at Igwuruta, with undisclosed sum of money extorted from them.
Fakorede, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), who hails from Ekiti State, said: “The suspects impersonated as operatives of F-SARS and they have been doing it for a while. We quickly responded to the distress call, because the members of the public adequately utilised the distress lines that we gave. We traced the impersonators and we arrested them.
“We have a lot of miscreants who are impersonating security agents, especially F-SARS, thereby harassing, intimidating and extorting money from innocent members of the public, who ought to be very vigilant.
“I wish to admonish members of the public that whenever they find operatives of F-SARS extorting money or persons claiming to be from F-SARS, but involved in impersonation, they should please notify F-SARS through these numbers: 08054000001, 08057000002 and 08057000003, as well as Rivers State Police Command’s Control Room numbers: 08098880134 and 08032003514.”
Rivers Commander of F-SARS also disclosed that the two suspects would be thoroughly investigated and they would soon appear in court, to serve as a deterrent to other criminal-minded persons.
The Senate on Tuesday mandated its Ad Hoc Committee on Security to investigate allegations of human rights abuses against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on the Nigeria Police Force.
The move was sequel to a point-of-order raised by Isa Misau (APC-Bauchi) during the plenary.
Misau said that under the Police Act and Regulation, the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (Force CID) was the highest investigative arm of the Nigerian police. He said:
For effective and efficient administration, the department is divided into 14 sections for which the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is one of them.
The squad is supposed to be a section in each state command, with sole responsibility of handling armed robbery cases and answerable to the commissioner for police.
I have in the last few months received petitions from my constituency, both online and physically, against SARS on violence from extra-judicial killing, brutality, torture, arrest, bribery and other menacing conduct by the men of the unit.
The lawmaker added that findings had shown that the incidents were not isolated as many people had been sharing their experiences on social media. He said:
We are a civilised society. The majority of the Nigerian Police is manned by men and women of great integrity, discipline and commitment.
However, this unit is not one of them. It is dangerous for us to have a unit of the police force to act as if it is above the law and empowered to so behave.
He urged his colleagues to take a major decision to end SARS to make way for a more civilised unit that would be built around the rule of law and human rights observance.
I’m aware that in 2015, the then IG of Police, Solomon Arase, had due to incessant reports of abuses by the force, split SARS into two units with a view to check human rights abuses.
This indeed was by ensuring that officers cannot make arrest and investigate the same case.
Misau, however, said the abuses had continued irrespective of that.
He said the Nigeria Police had a major obligation to ensure protection of human rights in all the states of the federation.
It therefore ought to prevent and investigate corruption as well as misconduct by law enforcement officers and provide accountability for the exercise of their powers.
I call on this chamber to mandate the ad hoc committee on security to investigate this issue of human rights abuses by SARS and make relevant recommendations.
The motion was seconded by Dino Melaye (APC-Kogi).
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said it was appropriate for the matter to be sent to the committee for consideration. He said:
It is clear that something wrong is going on and needs urgent attention. It is happening in all our constituents, and we must be seen to be responsive to some of these needs.
Source
NAN
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