This afternoon, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Adamu Mohammed Adamu dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across all states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The IGP also directed that all operatives of the SARS be redeployed to other units of the Nigeria Police with immediate effect.
The IGP’s decision is consistent with our previous statement on the extra-judicial activities of SARS nationwide. We thus commend the Nigeria Police for the decision to dissolve the SARS. This dissolution is, no doubt, a mark of respect for democracy and people’s aspiration, demands and yearnings. We hope such approach to popular demands will henceforth characterise how the Force conducts its affairs and operations.
However the IGP’s decision is just the first step in our search for a truly democratic, citizen-centred and community-oriented policing system. For this dissolution to achieve its purpose, the Federal Government should collaborate with the states of the federation, civil society organisations and other critical stakeholders to initiate far-reaching reforms of the Nigeria Police. The federal government is hereby advised to consider some recommendations here under if the dissolution of SARS must yield desirable outcomes.
• The Nigeria Police must implement the report of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). This is consistent with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that the IGP should work out modalities and strategies for the implementation of the report. Among others, the report recommended the establishment of state and local government police. It also recommended that the SARS be renamed Anti-Robbery Section (ARS) and that the section should operate under the intelligence arm of the Nigeria Police.
• The federal government should empower the Police Service Commission (PSC) to carry out its oversight function on the police, including SARS, without let or hindrance. PSC should have enough independence to develop its own processes and procedures and should have its own investigators. It should not have to rely on the police to investigate allegations of human rights violations.
• The federal government to ensure that all police officers, including SARS officers, undergo training based on human rights standards compliant practices. All police officers should receive training and re-training (where applicable) on human rights compliant practices.
• The federal government should review codes and regulations concerning the functioning of the police to bring them in line with international standards. The disciplinary regulations should be reformed to ensure compliance with international human rights laws and standards.
• The federal government must come up with a framework for structured training and retraining of police officers, especially all the operatives of the defunct SARS. The training must be methodical, structured and systematic focusing on human rights standards compliant practices. The police officers should undergo training and re-training programmes with a view to changing their mindset towards people and their approach to law enforcement. It may be necessary to carry out the much-needed reorientation of the Nigerian Police as a service-focused law enforcement agency rather than a paramilitary agency or "Force"
As the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) for senatorial bye-election in Lagos East, therefore, I am committed to supporting far-reaching reforms that will re-engineer police operations across the federation. If eventually elected on October 31, I will pursue the amendment of the Nigeria Police Act in order to humanise police operations and institutionalise modern policing and law enforcement in Nigeria. We cannot allow the police to become a threat to the people they are set up to protect.
Mr. Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, FCA.
(“Tokunbo Abiru”)
APC Senatorial Candidate
Lagos East Senatorial District
October 11, 2020
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