How SARS Threatened Me With Gun 4yrs Ago, Lagos Dep Gov ‘Joins’ Protesters

Amidst calls for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, has revealed that he was once harassed by operatives of the unit.

The last few days had seen Nigerians taking to the streets and social media to protest alleged extra-judicial killings, extortions and rights abuses by SARS operatives in parts of the country.

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The protests were more pronounced in Lagos State, where some of the demonstrators had passed the night in front of the Lagos State House of Assembly, demanding disbandment of the police unit.

Hamzat, on Friday, visited a scene of the protest at Alausa, Ikeja, to appease the demonstrators.

The deputy governor told the protesters: “Every decent Nigerian will be upset. This happened to me four years ago. I was going to Amuwo Odofin…they (SARS operatives) were not in uniform, they had guns, they just double crossed us and said we should get out.”

He said, “The tenet of the police operation is to protect the citizens. Security operatives don’t have the right to trample on the rights of law-abiding citizens, because of their unfamiliar looks, or because they are carrying laptops or iPhones. It is wrong for any police officer to expressly accuse or pronounce someone, irrespective of age, guilty because they have dreads or ride luxury vehicles,” he said.

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“As a government, we support evidence-based investigations and actions driven by intelligence. The procedure of arrest and prosecution must be followed through. We are equally aggrieved like every other law-abiding Nigerian. If a young man or woman who is legitimately doing his or her job is attacked or maimed by police officers for no reason, we will never support that. We condemn police brutality in whatever guise and we will continue to engage their leadership for change.”

“We fully understand the reasons for your anger but this demonstration must also be carried out in line with the law. If we employ violence or destruction to drive home our grievances, we will also be hurting ourselves. The protest must be orderly, so that those concerned will get the salient point of the message.

“You can’t block the road, disrupt free flow of traffic and prevent other people from embarking on their lawful duties, especially the emergency responders. As citizens, it is within your rights to express your grievances but let us exercise caution and eschew violence. The authorities have heard your voice and I hope we all leave the roads with the understanding that drastic changes will be effected.”

Earlier, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, had said it would be impossible for the Force to completely scrap SARS because men of the police unit were “deeply embedded” in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria.

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