By our reporter| Following the rising number of Nigerians killed by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, a Civil Society Organisation, CSO, on Saturday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to disband the body.
Many Nigerians on Twitter also expressed anger over the activities of men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigerian police, calling for the unit to be proscribed.
The #EndSars hashtag was the number one trend on social media app, Twitter on Saturday for several hours.
Saturday’s outrage appeared to have been triggered by a post from a Twitter user who said he recorded SARS officials shooting “a young boy dead at Ughelli, Delta state in front of Wetland hotels. They left him for dead on the roadside and drove away with the deceased Lexus jeep.”
The CSO, Centre for Advancement of Civil Liberties and Development, made the call while condemning the attack on Nigerians by SARS operatives.
In a statement jointly signed by co-conveners of the group namely, Adebayo Raphael, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, and Deji Adeyanji, the group said disbanding SARS was the only way to stop these police operatives from “terrorising” Nigerians.
“We condemn in its totality, the resurgence of unprovoked and unjustified violence of operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Nigerian citizens, especially the youths in different parts of the country”, the statement read.
“We have watched with disdain, the several clips of SARS brutality populating different social media platforms, and how the operatives of this Police Unit — legitimately constituted to combat crime and ensure the safety of the people — have now become agents of terror and unwarranted brutality and abuse to Nigerian youths.
“In line with Chapter II, Section 14 (2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, it is clear to us and the majority of Nigerians that this police unit has failed to prioritize the security of the Nigerian people, but has rather become a bane to our nation’s security and a monstrous threat to the safety of the Nigerian people.
“It is on this basis that we declare, therefore, that the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must act immediately and decisively to shut down this unit of the Nigeria Police Force and ensure that it henceforth ceases to exist in our country.
“In addition, the Federal Government must order the immediate and unconditional release of all innocent citizens who have been unjustly incarcerated by this unit and compensate them accordingly.
“Further, the Federal Government must immediately order an independent inquiry into the rogue activities of SARS operatives in the last one year and punish any and every operative found guilty of extortion, abuse of Nigerian citizens and execution or killing of any innocent citizen within the said timeframe.
“Our hope is that the Federal Government will side with the Nigerian people, and not this rogue unit terrorizing Nigerians with unbridled impunity. The Nigerian Police Force can only become an institution that protects the Nigerian people when it is free of anti-people and anti-democratic elements like the operatives in the SARS unit.”
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