Terror unleashed by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State has been described by the state Government as a subtle and gradual descent to dictatorship on Rivers people.
The state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Emma Aguma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) made the assertion when he spoke on a live radio programme organised by Silverbird Communications in Port Harcourt, last Saturday.
Aguma decried the fact that on several occasions, the state government had petitioned the Federal Government on the activities of SARS without any positive response, saying that SARS’ activities amounted to a deliberate ploy to destabilize the state.
Rather than provide security for Rivers people, Aguma observed that SARS has become an instrument of crime and all sorts of anti-social activities, as they indiscriminately arrest innocent citizens and force charges on them.
He said, “All complaints made by the people have fallen on deaf ears. Recall that majority of the complaints and petitions raised by the people during the visit of the Presidential Panel was on SARS, not the Navy, not the Army”.
The attorney-general further accused the federal security outfit of extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public who were indiscriminately apprehended by SARS and falsely accused of committing crimes.
Aguma submitted that the activities of SARS have become a source of worry and concern to Rivers people because the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and other relevant police authorities have failed to respond to the outcry of the government and people of the state, thereby making SARS more emboldened to commit atrocities in the state.
“The silence displayed by the Federal Government is deafening”, Aguma remarked, “Is it not about time that those involved act. The silence for us is acquiescence”.
The commissioner denied the claim that the state government was raising false alarm due to SARS’ refusal to be used as tool to hunt its critics.
Meanwhile, the authorities of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council in Rivers State, have given the embattled Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Rivers State Police Command up till November 30, 2017, to vacate its headquarters located inside the Obio/Akpor International Market, Rukpokwu, near Port Harcourt or face eviction.
The council, in a quit notice dated October 18, 2017, and addressed to the Commander of SARS in the state, CSP Akin Fakorede, emphasised that it will take all available legal means to take possession of the property should the special security outfit fail or refuse to abide by the notice.
Copied in the letter, which was signed by the Legal Adviser to the council, Barrister Victor Owhonda, were the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed; amongst others.
It reads in part, “I am directed by the Local Government Council to give you one month Notice to Vacate and deliver up possession of the premises/property of the Obio/Akpor International Market, Rukpokwu, which you presently occupy as a licensee thereof on or before 30th day of November, 2017.
“The directive is borne out of the council’s need to carry out major renovation works at the International Market, and put the said property, which you occupy into full use and purpose for which it was originally acquired and built.
“Take further notice that in the event you fail or refuse to abide by this notice, the council shall have no option but to use all available legal means to eject you therefrom and demand consequential damages,” the quit notice added.
Reacting to the eviction notice, which was also received same day by the SARS Commander, Akin Fakorede, and the state commissioner of police, the Rivers State Police Command insisted that the property occupied by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad within the premises of Obio/Akpor International Market at Rukpokwu was a police station.
Spokesman of the command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the receipt of a copy of the letter, also said the property was serving its purpose as a police station, explaining that the police was not a tenant of the local government council in Rivers State.
He further disclosed that the legal arm of the police was studying the letter, and would advise the police high command appropriately.
According to him, “For what it is worth, we are not a tenant to Obio Akpor Local Government. They are not our landlords.
“That property was built to the specification of a police station and that is what it is being used for. That place is a police station.
“I have never seen where a police station is built and occupied and then some persons will say the police should vacate the place.
“Anyway, our lawyers are looking at that notice, and since it came from their legal adviser, we will respond appropriately,” Omoni added.
The Tide recalls that the frosty relationship between the Fakorede-led SARS and the Rivers State Government has been accentuated by the obvious refusal of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to redeploy the SARS commander, following various evidences of alleged crime and conspiracy to commit acts of criminality in the state.
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike had at several fora accused Fakorede of professional conduct dating back to the 2015 general elections when he was first accused of helping the All Progressives Congress (APC) rig the elections as well as the subsequent rerun elections in 2016 in the state.
However, the Police High Command has continued to defend Fakorede, insisting that he was professional in his conduct.
The Tide reports that the property was built and donated to the Rivers State Police Command as a police station to provide security cover to the market in 2012 during the tenure of the former Obio/Akpor Local Government Council Chairman, Timothy Nsirim.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana & Markson Tamunobubeleye