Akin Alabi has filed a motion before the House of Representatives asking for an urgent dissolution of the dreaded police special anti-robbery squad, SARS. Mr. Alabi, APC-Oyo, said there is enough evidence in the public domain to proscribe SARS immediately, warning that the unit has committed enough atrocities.
Mr. Alabi said SARS operatives have become so lawless that even the police inspector-general can no longer contain their excesses, decrying how Nigerians now harbour untold fear of the deadly and corrupt unit.
What Akin Alabi has filed before the House of Representatives
“Urgent need to immediately proscribe the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) division a the Nigerian Police Force.
The House:
Notes that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad is a branch of the Nigeria. police, under the Criminal investigating department (CID); ARE is the highest investigating arm A the Nigerian police force;
A. notes that t. Special A.-Robbery Squad (SARS) was created to combat violent crimes like armed robbery and kidnapping, with the genuine intention of abating high rates of crime in the country;
Further notes the increasing recurrence in the incidences and allegations of shootings and killings of innocent and unarmed citizens by SARS officials, with documented reports on various social media platforms and even viral videos showing the many atrocities (including unlawful arrest, torture, extrajudicial killings, and extortion) being committed against Nigerian citizens: Aware of the popular case of Kolade Johnson, a young man who was hit by a bullet fired by a SARS official, in Lagos on March 31, 2019, that sparked fresh nationwide outrage with the hashtag 4ENDSARS (Premium Times, April 1, 2019);
Also aware of the killing of a Remo Stars Football Club player, Tiamiyu Kazeem, (also known as Kaka), by SARS officials under the Zone 2 Command Headquarters in Lagos. Once again
Suite 0.04 House of Representatives Budding, Three Arms Zone, Pmb 141, Gorki, Abuja. Federal Capital Territory
resurrecting the call by Nigerians for the total scrapping of SARS (The Guardian Newspaper, February 29, 2020); Further aware of the most recent case of SARS officials in Delta State allegedly shooting a young man and leaving him for dead, while seen and captured on video leaving the scene with the deceased’s vehicle (Sahara Reporters, October 3, 2020);
Disturbed that that unabatedly from 2016, SARS has been in the news, not because of positive records in crime-fighting, but due to ceaseless killings and attacks on innocent citizens and gross infringements on their fundamental human rights;
Further disturbed that the repeated instructions of the Inspector general of police insisting that SARS officials desist from indiscriminately stopping and marching citizens have gone unheeded and done nothing to stop the continuing exploitation and ill-treatment of citizens by SARS;
Regrets that contrary to the duty of the Nigerian Police Force, as set out in the Nigerian Police Act 2004, which is “to secure lives and properties…” the fear of SARS police officers has become the new order of the day; Also regrets that Nigerian families and individuals have suffered the brunt of the excesses and abuse from the brazen SARS squad, who defiantly leverage on the crime rate to harm the lives of the innocent youths who are making genuine efforts to make something of their lives; Further regrets that policing in Nigeria continues to fall short of modern practices where citizens should be treated with utmost respect and decorum, therefore, making it very difficult for an average citizen to truly trust that the police are their friends;
Convinced that the incessant cries of the public to end SARS must no longer be disregarded or met with tepid responses or reactions from the government. but must be treated as the genuine cries of families that have lost loved ones and the growing fear of the average Nigerian youth who is now scared to leave his home or walk the streets for fear of his life. As such must be confronted with immediate and lasting decisions to assail the fears of Nigerians and restore sanity to our streets;”
Resolves to: i. Urge the Inspector General of police to immediately and completely ban the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police; ii. Mandate the Committee on Police Affairs to ensure compliance.
