Beyond disbandment police must identify, punish SARS operatives involved in abuses —Gbajabiamila

The House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for listening to the demands by Nigerians to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

He, however, said that beyond the disbandment of SARS that the the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) must ensure it identified and punish SARS operatives involved in severe cases of abuse of rights, brutality and murder of Nigerians.

Gbajabiamila stated this in a statement on Sunday by his spokesman, Lanre Lasisi.

He was responding to the disbandment of SARS by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammmed Adamu, following widespread protests against the police unit.

Gbajabiamila said the dissolution of the unit of the police was a necessary response by the government to the outcry arising from their multiple documented excesses across the country.

He equally commended Nigerians, particularly the millions of young people at home and abroad, who saw a wrong and sought to make it right, who saw injustice and acted to put an end to it.

According to him, the dissolution of SARS and the broader, ongoing reforms of the police that will follow, are a testament to the passion and resilience of a generation of Nigerians who determined not to accept or tolerate injustice in whatever form it takes.

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The Speaker also called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar Adamu to take practical steps to support and enforce this policy pronouncement.

“These steps are necessary to assure the Nigerian people that the announced dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is sincere and well-intentioned, and not merely meant to quell the ongoing protests across the country.

“The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) must also act to identify and punish those operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) involved in the most severe cases of abuse of rights, brutality and murder of Nigerian citizens,” he said.

Gbajabiamila noted with displeasure the police’s manhandling of some protesters, who came out in numbers to protest peacefully.

The Speaker wishes to assure all Nigerians that the dissolution of SARS would not preclude the ongoing efforts by the House of Representatives to effect reforms of the police through legislation.

He said, “There is still a pressing need to have an independent system for monitoring police actions and holding police officers to proper account for failures to follow the law and the police code. The House will continue its work to legislate lasting solutions to the problems of policing in Nigeria.”

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