Beyond SARS Ban

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Adamu, finally responded to years of protests and spirited agitations by Nigerians against iron-fisted manhandling and murderous indiscretions they had suffered in the hands of his men when he yesterday announced the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARs) unit of the Nigeria Police Force in the 36 states and the FCT Commands and ordered the instant redeployment of their men and officers. Only a week ago, he had banned the Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad (FSARS) and other tactical formations from routine patrols and related operations like stop-and-search, road blocks, etc across the country with immediate effect.
In a press statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, Deputy Commissioner of Police, and released on Sunday, October 4, 2020, the IGP banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force including the Special Tactical Squads (STS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Anti-Cultism Squad and other Tactical Squads operating at the Federal, Zonal and Command levels, from carrying out routine patrols and other conventional low-risk duties – stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, etc – with immediate effect.
“In addition, no personnel of the Force is authorised to embark on patrols or tactical assignments in mufti. They must always appear in their police uniforms of approved tactical gear”, it said.
The statement also said that “specifically, the IGP has warned the Tactical Squads against the invasion of the privacy of citizens, particularly through indiscriminate and unauthorised search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart devices. They are to concentrate and respond only to cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes, when the need arises”.
While noting that the special units remained critical components of the force in the execution of its duty to confront and contain prevailing and emerging violent crimes in the country, the top Cop himself condemned the unprofessional acts and abuse of human rights perpetrated by his men and therefore ordered his X-Squad and Monitoring Unit to immediately embark on enforcing the ban, among others.
“The IGP has equally warned that, henceforth, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Commissioner of Police in charge of State Commands and the FCT, as well as their supervisory Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police, will be held liable for any misconduct within their Areas of Responsibility (AOR)”, the statement said.
In a swift reaction to the development same day, the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo expressed strong disapproval and disgust over the incessant harassment and brutality meted out to innocent and law-abiding Nigerians by operatives of the FSAR, and commended the IGP for the measures announced.
Speaking with State House Correspondents in Abuja, the number two citizen of the country said he was displeased by the way Nigerians, especially young people, were routinely being abused by ‘bad eggs of the force’, describing it as ‘completely unacceptable because these are individuals who are meant to protect Nigerians’.
Osinbajo said: “I am very concerned, in fact, very angry about what I see happening to young men and women who are arrested, in some cases maimed or killed by men of the police force”, and declared that “the arrest, maiming or killing of young people or anyone at all, is completely wrong; it is unlawful and illegal, and anyone involved in this act ought to be investigated and prosecuted”.
The Vice President disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari himself was worried about the inexcusable conduct, nay misconduct, of the police and desirous of a reform of the force, adding that the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police Force were intent on ensuring “that everyone of those allegations is properly investigated and those found responsible are prosecuted and publicised so that people know that prosecution has taken place and this is the consequence”.
However, as it turned out, not many Nigerians were pacified and persuaded by the pronouncements of the police hierarchy and the assurances from the highest level of the Federal Government as protests and agitations continued by civil society groups in Abuja and around the country asking for the total disbandment of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS).
While The Tide commends the IGP for the measures taken and appreciates the Federal Government for the strongest possible condemnation and appreciation of the raw deal Nigerians have had in the hands of the police, like most of our countrymen, we do not believe that the dissolution of the controversial unit of the force is the solution to the multi-dimensional issues of brutality and routine abuse of office by the police.
To begin with, IGP Adamu would not be the first of his rank to reprimand and issue directives aimed at curtailing the excesses and brazen abuse of privilege by the men with the mandate to protect lives and property of citizens and maintenance of law and order in the country. If anything, they appear to have progressed in impunity with successive orders that have never been followed through by those dictating the commands.
The Nigeria Police Force is arguably the face of corruption in Nigeria. This sorry state of affairs has come to stick for so long with successive leaderships of the organisation attempting little or nothing to change the outlook and public perception. Human rights abuses and extra judicial killings have since become a daily staple served the citizens by the men and women paid from the state treasury to secure lives and property and ensure orderliness in the society.
This is why we completely agree with the Vice President that the Police in Nigeria needs to be reformed and not just the disbandment of the SARS. In fact, a comprehensive overhaul of the security outfit is long overdue and should not be delayed any further.
Nigerians will like to see properly trained, truly civil, presentable, well motivated, adequately nurtured and cultured and highly professional police personnel, irrespective of rank and position. And while we want to give the IGP the benefit of the doubt and urge him to match his word with action, we believe that the place to begin is to ensure adequate training and proper orientation in the best traditions of people-oriented policing to produce the desired calibre of men and officers that will not continue to be a source of embarrassment and disgrace to the nation and a menace to the citizens.