The Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, has said that all alleged cases of human rights violations against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad will be investigated.
He stated this in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, on Sunday.
The statement, which announced the dissolution of SARS nationwide, said a body would be constituted to work the police force in the probe.
The statement read in part, “The force is constituting an investigation team which shall include civil society organizations and human rights bodies to work with the police in investigating alleged cases of human rights violations. 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.”
“In the finest spirit of democratic, citizen-centred and community policing, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, has today, 11 October, 2020, dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the 36 State Police Commands and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where they hitherto existed.”
Mba said the dissolution of SARS was in response to the yearnings of the Nigerian people by the police top brass.
He said that by the dissolution, all officers and men of the now defunct Special Anti-robbery Squad were being redeployed with immediate effect.
He said the IGP noted that the Force was 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 said the IG assured Nigerians that a new policing arrangement to address anticipated policing gaps the dissolution of SARS would cause had been evolved and would be announced in due course.
The PPRO added that as part of measures to prevent a recurrence of events that gave rise to the dissolution of SARS, a Citizens’ and Strategic Stakeholders’ Forum was being formed to regularly interface with police leadership at all levels and advise on police activities as they affected the general public.
He said the IGP appreciated and commended all citizens particularly those who genuinely expressed their concerns for a better policing orientation in an organized, patriotic and civil manner.
Mba said the IGP reaffirmed the determination of the Force to bequeath to the country a Police Force and system that is professional in service delivery and most importantly, accountable to the people.
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