Nigeria: Police Dissolve SARS, to Work with CSOs

By Development Diaries
October 11, 2020

The Nigerian police have announced the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) following days of widespread protests against police brutality.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, who announced the dissolution of SARS on 11 October, said that the force will work with civil society organisations (CSOs) and rights defenders to investigate cases of alleged human rights violations.

SARS, a unit of the Nigeria Police Force specifically set up to fight robbery and kidnapping, has long been accused of harassment, unlawful arrests, torture and killings.

Videos shared recently on social media appear to show SARS operatives extorting money and even shooting people.

The hashtag #EndSARS was triggered by the alleged killing of a young man by SARS operatives in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, on 03 October.

The police boss had on 04 October responded to the public outcry by banning SARS operatives from carrying out any stop-and-search duties.

However, protesters did not back down as they wanted disbandment of the unit.

‘The IGP, while noting that the dissolution of SARS is in response to the yearnings of the Nigerian people, observes that by this dissolution, all officers and men of the now defunct Special Anti-robbery Squad are being redeployed with immediate effect’, a police statement read.

‘The IGP notes that the force is not oblivious of the ever present need to combat armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country which was before now the core mandate of the erstwhile squad.

‘He assures that a new policing arrangement to address anticipated policing gaps the dissolution of SARS would cause has been evolved and shall be announced in due course’.

Moreover, the police said they were forming a forum of citizens and strategic stakeholders, including human rights defenders and CSOs, to regularly interface with police leadership at all levels and advise on police activities as they affect the general public.

‘The measure, the IGP believes, will enhance transparency and accountability in police services as well as providing a system of deterrence for erring police officers whose action clearly violates the rights of the citizenry’, the statement added.

Source: Nigeria Police Force