I heard that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has ordered the overhaul of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). I am not excited. Even though SARS is a rotten egg, it was encouraged to be horrible by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Idris Ibrahim.
IGP Idris was the architect of the demeaning descent of SARS. It was under him that SARS became a terror gang and an election rigging group. They left chasing armed robbers to harassing Buhari’s perceived political opponents.
SARS as presently constituted cannot be overhauled. There is virtually nothing positive about the group. It is a group of policemen working against the interest of the country.
It is now the worst rigging machine in the nation’s history. It has been used by the APC Federal Government to rape democracy, steal mandates, rob and kidnap innocent citizens.
Therefore, any overhaul of SARS that involves IGP Idris is dead on arrival. It cannot be reasonable or effective. IGP Idris has already appointed a new commissioner in charge of SARs. Is he from outer space? Is he not a member of the Nigeria Police Force? Will he not be receiving directives from IGP Idris ?
IGP Idris cannot be a part of the future of the police. He has done more damage to the Nigerian Police than any of his predecessors. He has relegated the Nigerian Police to the dungeon of illegality. The police only serves unpopular APC Government officials to intimidate other Nigerians.
Under IGP Idris, SARs invaded the Rivers East Senatorial District Collation to rob results, they invaded the Benue State House of Assembly to destroy legislative independence and took over the Rivers State High Court Complex to confer advantage on the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
The haste with which IGP Idris announced cosmetic changes in SARs indicate that you cannot wash off the spots on the skin on the leopard. He claimed that the name has been changed from SARs to FSARs. IGP Idris in his hurry forgot that the uniforms of these crooks carry the name F-SARS. Perhaps, the only change is moving it from FCID to operations department. This is a joke of the century.
Go online and see pictures of SARs Operatives. They all have inscriptions–FSARS. This IGP is fraudulent in his actions and cannot be trusted with the business of reforms.
Like was resolved by the Senate, IGP Idris is a threat to the nation’s democracy. He has availed APC the use of the police for rigging purposes. As long as IGP Idris remains in office, SARS will still be used to rig elections, kidnap and rob Nigerians.
Having dragged the Nigerian Police to the unenviable position of being the worst in the world, IGP Idris should just go.
If the Presidency is interested in the overhaul of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, then it should set up an independent review group comprising the Police Service Commission, the National Assembly, Representatives of State Governments, Labour, Press and Civil Society Organisations to do a thorough job in three weeks. Serving policemen should not be directly involved.
This overhauling of SARs should be transparently carried out, with the public informed on daily proceedings. Especially, detention facilities, scope of operations, activities of SARs commanders/operatives and the culpability of IGP Idris in the degeneration of SARs.
If the failed APC Federal Government in its struggle to redeem itself through supposedly populist actions like this one is premised on a tainted official like IGP Idris, then it has ended in failure even before it started. What good can IGP Idris ‘transmit’?.
To me, the most important aspect of this overhaul would be the thorough investigation and prosecution of criminally indicted SARs Commanders/senior officials across the country.
For instance, there must be the transparent investigation, interrogation and prosecution of Former Rivers SARs Commander, Akin Fakorede. He should be directly investigation for the invasion of Rivers East Senatorial District Collation Centre, where he was captured on video committing electoral crime. Anything short , will be a charade.
Additionally , the APC Federal Government should go a step further to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry on the operations of SARS in the last three years. This will accomodate memoranda from members of the public and it will be thrashed in the open.
The Nigerian Police should be loyal to the constitution and the people. But under the APC Federal Government, it has been hijacked by the Presidency for nefarious activities. The IGP who was appointed for political “Kano” reasons, is a major plague on the nation’s security infrastructure. He has no place in the unfolding post-Buhari Nigeria.
I call on the failed APC Federal Government to be honourable for once. Sack the IGP, investigate and prosecute him for the crimes against Nigeria. The IGP cannot destroy the security architecture of the country and still have the opportunity to pretend to resolve his own criminality.
SARS is horrible because IGP Idris made it so. SARs is a rigging machine for the APC Federal Government because IGP Idris empowered them with that capacity. IGP Idris, just go. Let another be saddled with the responsibility of overhauling SARS.
Written by Simeon Nwakaudu.
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