Menace Of SARS: True Reflection Of Nigeria Police Force

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was founded in 1992 by former police commissioner Simeon Danladi Midenda. SARS came into existence as a result of a rise in crimes due to the absence of police personnel who fled for their lives and others resigning to escape from soldiers who were hell-bent on avenging the death of an officer, Col Rindam, of the Nigerian Army. Rindam was killed by police officers at a checkpoint in Lagos. SARS was formed with only 15 officers operating in the dark without the knowledge of the army. It was disbanded on October 11, 2020 following a widespread protest from Nigerians across the country and in the diaspora. SARS has been under controversies for being linked to acts of extortion, torture, framing and blackmail. These led to the sustained nationwide protests that culminated in it being disbanded.

Arising from the achievements recorded by SARS for almost three decades of its existence, one wonders why this sudden demand for its disbandment by well-meaning Nigerians at home and abroad. SARS has been accused of human rights abuses, illegal arrest and detention, illegal stop-and-search, sexual harassment of women, extrajudicial killings and brutalizing many Nigerians. The gory stories of the activities of SARS have presented the Special Anti-Robbery Unit as a harbinger of death and woes.

Residents of Anambra State, in general, and Awkuzu in particular, are yet to recover from the effects of the human rights violations by SARS. According to a research carried out by the Amnesty International in 2014 and 2016, Awkuzu SARS was described as the headquarters of human rights as it relates to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and extrajudicial killings. It is said that between 2012 and 2016, hundreds of innocent youths were tortured, dehumanized and extra-judicially killed. Notable among these revelations is that of one Justin Nwankwo, a PhD student/researcher at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and manager of Upper Class Hotel until 1st of August, 2013 when he was arrested alongside the hotel owner, Chief Mokwe, on accusation of the murder of one Nnalue Okafor who was in SARS detention.

In a new report, Time to End Impunity, Amnesty International puts together no fewer than 82 cases of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial executions by SARS between January 2017 and May 2020. The findings of this report also show that these horrific violations were carried out under the supervision of high-ranking police officers. According to 23-year old Miracle who was arrested in March 2017 and detained by SARS officers in Neni, Anambra State, on the accusation of the theft of a laptop, he was tortured and given hardly any food during the 40 days that he was in detention.

In the light of the above, many questions have been raised and many demands made. The recent massive protest calling for the disbanding of SARS and its final dissolution on the 11th of October by the inspector-general of police is a major achievement, and shows the power of unity. But I ask, is the disbandment of SARS the solution to the many instances of torture, rape, illegal detention and extrajudicial killings? Will it put an end to police brutalities? This is where we need to work together to put an end to the menace of the Nigeria Police Force, and not just SARS!

The problem starts from the point of recruitment of these police officers. A pertinent question should be, who are these police officers recruited and do they undergo psychological tests as police officers? The brutality of the SARS is a true reflection of the Nigeria Police Force. Over the years, we have heard stories of gross irregularities in the recruitment processes of police officers, ranging from selling of slots to individuals without full knowledge of their background to failure to conduct a psychological test before recruitment. Criminals, cultists and mentally unstable persons are gradually finding their ways into the force as ‘officers of the law’, a pathetic case! Some of the police officers have dangerous criminal tendencies. Some police recruits have ties to armed robbery gangs and drug dealers, and see the police force as an opportunity to be under the protection of the law.

The president’s assertion few days ago that most of the police officers of the Nigeria Police Force are good and dedicated men and women is debatable as it is very clear that we have more ‘bad eggs’ in the force than good ones. An individual who engages in crimes and is able to buy a slot given to a politician and finds his way into the Nigeria Police Force will definitely enlarge his base and use government’s structure to his advantage. The Force has a fundamental flaw and with its tragic sequence of events, it leaves no one in doubt of its urgent need for reforms. The officers of the disbanded SARS will simply be redeployed and they will continue their inhuman treatment in their new place of redeployment. It has nothing to do with the name of a security unit, but the personality of the individual. People say policemen and women are underpaid, hence the justification for their illegal exhortation and harassment. This is far from the truth.

Greed plays a major role here as these officers are always brutal and bold in their inhuman activities. The inspector-general of police has hurriedly set up a new outfit with the name SWAT (Special Weapon and Tactics Team) precisely two days after the dissolution of SARS, fueling speculations that same officers from the defunct SARS will also be used to form the new outfit.

True reformation should start from the recruitment stage. Politicians should stop giving slots to criminals who helped in snatching ballot boxes as compensation. Every officer recruited must be made to undergo a psychological test and full background information must be obtained to ascertain the mental status of ‘an officer of the law’. Going forward, allegation of police brutality and illegal extortion should be properly investigated, and if found to be true, erring police officers should be punished and not shielded from justice. As we await the commencement of the new outfit, SWAT, one thing is clear – the problem of the Nigeria Police Force has nothing to do with the name of the outfit, but everything about the orientation of the members of such outfit as this determines their every action as a group.

– Omijie writes from Asaba, Delta State

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.