The Many Misdemeanors Of Sars: Another policy summer sault?

By Maryam Musa

Following a new uproar of ‘ENDSASRS’ campaign arising as a result of the onslaught of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS, on innocent citizens, the Inspector-General of Police has banned operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), the Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Intelligence Response Team (IRT) from undertaking routine patrols as well as stop and search duties.

The IGP’s directive came in the wake of the outrage over alleged criminal and extra-judicial actions of FSARS officers against citizens in various parts of the country.

In a circular dated October 5, 2020 to all police formations in the country, the IGP asked the heads of commands and units to compile all recent cases of abuse of power and violation of rights of citizens by FSARS, SARS, IRT, STS, and other police teams, and send to his office on Friday.

“In utter disregard [for] consistent warnings, previous orders, their professional training, international protocol, constitutional dictates, force policies and ethical standards, these special operatives have continued to drag the Force into acts that pitch us against the citizens that we were engaged, paid and statutorily obligated to serve and protect,” the IGP said.

“In order to address these resonating unprofessional conducts, it is directed as follows: Any police personnel that, henceforth, abuses his or her powers in a manner that degrades, endangers or threatens the life and other fundamental rights of the citizens shall be promptly arrested, processed through our internal disciplinary machinery and if found culpable, shall be dismissed from service. In addition, such personnel could be charged to court in consonance with their level of criminal liability in the instance.

“The indiscriminate, unauthorised and degrading search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart electronic devices of citizens by the Special Units and all Police operatives of different Formations, Zones, Commands and Units is hereby banned. The only exception is if such an act is in furtherance to a specific case that has been reported and is a subject of a criminal investigation in specific Formation, Command, Police Station or Unit. In which case, due process must be followed by the investigating team.

“All recent cases of abuses of power and violation of rights of citizens by FSARS, SARS, IRT, STS and other Police Teams should be compiled by the Heads of all Police Formations, Commands and Units and forwarded to the Office of the Inspector General of Police not later than Friday, 9th October, 2020.”

But the question that needed to be answered is whether or not the IGP will get it right this time, because the Police have announced measures almost seven times to reform SARS without achieving any results.

In December 2017, when the agitation to disband SARS gained momentum, the then IGP Ibrahim Idris announced measures to reorganise SARS. Similar to the new directive by the current IGP, Idris had said that SARS would be banned from conducting stop and search operations except when necessary and warned SARS operatives against acting as bodyguards or getting involved in civil disputes.

Then in August 2018, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo directed Idris to overhaul SARS and stop the police officers from engaging in arbitrary arrests and civil matters.

A statement from Osinbajo’s office read: “Following persistent complaints and reports on the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that border on allegations of human rights violations, His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Acting-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, has directed the Inspector-General of Police to, with immediate effect, overhaul the management and activities of SARS and ensure that any unit that will emerge from the process will be intelligence-driven and restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery and kidnapping, and apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences, and nothing more.”

Again in September 2018, Idris ordered SARS to stop the random searching of people’s phones immediately.

“You are barred from searching handsets and laptops of innocent citizens, unless the search is directly linked to a case or directed by IGP or any person or persons he so delegated,” Idris said.

He also said SARS officers who detained a suspect beyond 48 hours without recourse to the court risked being dismissed.

Later in January 2019, following yet another public outcry, Adamu ordered a total reorganisation of SARS.

He promised a comprehensive reform both in terms of ethics, mode of operation, nomenclature and orientation, function delineation, command and control, weaponry and accountability mechanism will be undertaken in SARS.

He said a protocol that would document the outcome of the reform would be developed, adding that the protocol would become the standard operating procedure of the unit which would be engaged for the performance evaluation in aid of the accountability process and disciplinary concerns.

Then in February 2020, Adamu ordered the disbandment of satellite offices of SARS. He pointed out that dissolving SARS offices was part of an ongoing reorganisation.

Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has reaffirmed his commitment to the ongoing reforms in the Nigeria Police Force, especially as it concerns the activities of the Federal Anti-robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Special Tactical Units of the Force. The IGP made this known during a courtesy call on him by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, on Monday, 5th October, 2020, at the Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja.

The IGP called on the citizens to exercise patience as the reforms in FSARS et.al are still in progress, noting that all the already announced measures aimed at checkmating future occurrence of extra-judicial activities by some personnel of FSARS and other Tactical Units of the Force will be followed to the latter. He reiterated that some of the officers who have been found to be unruly and unprofessional in their dealings with the citizens, particularly the youth, have been arrested and are already facing disciplinary actions.

In his remarks, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, commended the IGP for his prompt response in tackling the issues and called for stronger collaboration and mutual understanding between the Police and the youth. He also called for regular town hall meetings at various State Commands which will involve the Police Spokespersons, Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and other critical stakeholders to strengthen a synergy between the police and the citizens, especially the youth.

The IGP, while concurring with the Minister on the necessity for Town Hall meetings, a practice which he identified as a feature of community policing, reaffirmed the readiness of the Police, under his watch, to work with relevant stakeholders towards enhancing respect for the rights of the citizens and better bonding between the Police and the community at all times.

Just like he once spoke against SARS, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo again said he is concerned and angry that young men and women who are arrested are in some cases maimed or killed by men of the Nigeria Police Force.

Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement said the Vice President expressed this view on Sunday in Abuja.

The Vice President, who had earlier held a meeting with the I-G at his residence, said President Muhammadu Buhari and himself had discussed the matter on a number of occasions.

He said the President was displeased about reports on activities of FSARS and resolved to ensure reforms.

Osinbajo said: “Such violations are completely unacceptable because these are individuals who are meant to protect Nigerians.

“The arrest, maiming or killing of young people or anyone at all, is completely wrong.

“It is unlawful and illegal and anyone involved in this act ought to be investigated and prosecuted.

“Today, I had a meeting with the I-G and we reviewed several of these issues.

“The President is very concerned about it; he wants to see a reform.

“You are probably aware that the I-G has issued a statement looking at all these issues, in particular, the warning against the use of these tactical units such as SARS for purposes of doing anything other than anti-robbery.

“For example, he specifically said that you cannot have a situation where SARS says they are investigating cybercrime by arresting young men and women carrying their laptops and phones.

“I don’t see how you can investigate that by seizing people’s phones in a taxi or in their cars.”

Osinbajo said it was obvious that a few bad eggs in the Police were causing all of the problems because it was all over the place, in different states.

Osinbajo said the I-G’s statement banning FSARS and others was the first step.

He said: “He has said clearly that police men must wear police uniforms.

“You cannot say that because you belong to a tactical unit, you can dress in your casual clothing and be armed.”

By dressing casually, the vice president said that people “can’t even tell the difference between robbers and the police if you are not properly dressed in police uniform.

Osinbajo said: “So, clearly, a reform is in the offing.

“So, I will like to encourage civil society activists, young men and women, who bring this regularly, by the way, to the attention of government and the police.”

Osinbajo also said that activism was important because “they have been able to bring a lot of these issues to the attention of the Police and government.

“And that is an important part of the process of the reform.”

He said that the Federal Government would ensure that every one of those allegations against FSARS was properly investigated.

According to him, those found responsible will be prosecuted and publicised so that people will know that prosecution has taken place.

He said: “I am very confident that we will have a reformed police force and that process has already begun.”

Also lending his voice, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, expressed dismay over the alleged atrocious activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Police in Delta.

Omo-Agege gave the expression in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, in Abuja on Sunday.

He expressed concern over the alleged incessant cases of extrajudicial killings and harassment of defenseless citizens by men of SARS.

He also expressed worry that some officials attached to SARS in different parts of Nigeria were harassing defenceless citizens.

Specifically, the Deputy President of the Senate cited the alleged shooting of a man by operatives of SARS in his constituency in Ughelli, Delta for alleged refusal to allow the operatives to search his phone.

According to him, there was another shooting of a youth in the town by men of the ‘Operation Delta Safe’ over the victim’s alleged refusal to also allow the operatives to search his phone.

This, Omo-Agege said, buttressed his argument on the need for comprehensive reforms and overhaul of security units in the country.

The senator called on the police authorities to fish out the culprits for the prosecution to serve as deterrent to others.

While calling on security personnel to always maintain the rules of engagement, the lawmaker urged youth in the area to exercise utmost restraint while investigation is ongoing.

“Those who are authorised to carry arms and maintain law and order in the country ought to understand that such must be exercised with responsibility, especially when human life is sacrosanct.

“I hope those, who are quick at pulling the trigger, would adopt strategies that would foster mutual understanding between them and those they are tasked to protect.

“It would be a depressing twist of fate for them to be listed among those contributing to the list of the dead in this challenging period globally,’’ Omo-Agege said.

However, despite public uproar and condemnation, the Nigerian Senate has kicked against the scrapping of the dreaded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, condemned the call for the scrapping of the unit, positing that not all personnel of SARS engaged in extra-judicial activities while reacting to a motion moved by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

Tinubu had called on the attention of the Senate to the growing outrage from Nigerians regarding the nefarious activities and profiling of Nigerians by SARS personnel.

She stated that SARS operatives harass, arrest and extort Nigerian youth unconstitutionally.

She also said the incessant killings of Nigerians by SARS personnel directly negate both local and international human rights charter Nigeria subscribed to.

Commenting on the motion, Lawan said scrapping SARS was not the right way to cleanse the unit. He said, “Scrapping the SARS now may not be the best option because the nation may lose the best hands in the agency while trying to do away with the bad eggs among them.

“Scrapping of agencies when you have mistakes may not be the best position.

“If you scrap SARS, you lose the chance of getting those doing well to continue.”

The Senate, however, resolved to probe the extra-judicial arrests and killings of Nigerians by SARS operatives.

Lawan mandated the House Committee on Police, Judiciary and Human Rights to begin the probe of human rights abuses of Nigerians by SARS.

“Offenders must be arrested and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.

The calls for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police also resulted in a war of words between Afropop singer Wizkid and a presidential aide Lauretta Onochie.

The clash began on Twitter at the weekend when Wizkid and other Nigerian celebrities protested against police brutality, extortion, harassment and extrajudicial killing of Nigerians, mostly youths.

Wizkid responded to a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari in which he wished United States president Donald Trump speedy recovery from COVID-19.

“Donald Trump is not your business! Old man,” Wizkid told Buhari in a tweet which went viral with different hashtags – #EndSARSnow, #WarOnSARS and #StopPoliceBrutality.

Wizkid reminded the president that, “Police/SARZ still killing Nigerian youth on a daily basis! Do something! Nothing concern u for America! Face your country!!”

Other Nigerians vented their anger on Twitter while some called for a national protest to put an end to the police-citizen chaos in the country.

Miffed by Wizkid’s statement to Buhari, Onochie, the president’s special assistant on social media, said the Ojuelegba crooner exhibited crass ignorance, insensitivity and childishness with the way he addressed the president as an old man.

“It’s not disrespectful to call anyone old,” Onochie said. “It’s the way and manner Ayo Balogun addressed the President that leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

“She exhibited crass ignorance, insensitivity and childishness. But hey, he’s a #DumbkidNotWhizKid. When he grows up, he might learn respect.”

Responding to her tweet, Wizkid said he was simply demanding for good governance in his country and age has nothing to do with it.

“Lol a 77-year-old man is not young ma. You are a woman and a mother and kids are getting killed by police/SARS and this is all you have to say? Shame on you!!! Shame on you!!”

“I am a father and age has nothing to do with demanding for better governance in my country!!”

Speaking also, the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, a coalition of over 80 organisations, has said that the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, was not sincere in his latest ban of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Amid social media campaign to scrap the police squad, the IGP on Sunday banned SARS officials from carrying out ‘stop and search’ operations on roads.

However, concerns remain on its implementation as similar bans had been announced in the past with little or no action to enforce it.

ASCAB in a statement by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, said it was not the first time the police high command had issued such orders banning the squad.

The group said gross violations of human rights are linked to SARS and that a change of structure without fundamental change of operatives of the structure will soon make the problems to reoccur.

The statement reads, “The police high command has banned SARS several times. It has become a ritual. But SARS continues to operate under different names or structure. What we see is like removing sour wine and putting it in the same old, rusty bottles. Nothing remarkable has changed in the police command structure that aids all forms of repression and extra-judicial killings.

“It will be recalled that following public outcry in 2018 against indiscriminate arrests and detention, extortion and extrajudicial killings as well as other horrendous human rights abuses perpetrated by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad by setting up the Presidential Panel of Enquiry to investigate all complaints of human rights abuse. It noted that many Nigerians submitted reports and memoranda and gave clear evidence of police abuse but that the recommendations are yet to be implemented in 2020.

“Some of the recommendations made include the dismissal of 37 police officers from the force and the prosecution of 24 others, investigation of 22 officers involved in the violation of human rights of innocent citizens, payment of compensation of various sums in 45 complaints and tender of public apologies in five complaints and compliance with court orders in five matters.

“Other recommendations were the setting up of State and local government police and renaming of SARS to Anti-Robbery Section (ARS) which should operate under the intelligence unit of the police. The recommendations were accepted by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 3, 2019. But nothing has been done since then. The Inspector-General of Police and the Solicitor-General of the Federation/Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, were mandated to engage the National Human Rights Commission for a strategy of implementation within three months.

“To declare a ban on SARS again is nothing but policy summersault. It does show effective leadership neither does it portray the police authority as consistent.”

The group said if the reports were implemented it would have addressed major problems associated with the operative system of SARS and would have brought an end to its oppressive and inhuman modalities.

Falana said instead of ensuring that erring SARS operatives face the law, they had rather been treated like sacred cows.

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