Has the IGP kept his promise to reform SARS?

He has accomplished that because recently I saw a lot of phone numbers that were made available to members of the public to report the conduct of the men of SARS and I think if members of the public encounter them, they should be able to state the time and the location of the encounter. 

Most importantly, members of the public should learn to report many of these bad conducts to the Commissioners of Police in the various states because the IG is in Abuja. How easy is it for the IG to be able to see what is happening in Sokoto, Rivers, Kwara, Cross River and other states? That is why the police commissioners are in those states to enforce all the orders of the IG. When I was in Kwara, I ensured that the SARS officers comported and conducted themselves well. I achieved that because reports were coming to me as the CP and I was able to put machinery in place to check the excesses of the SARS men. So, enough of trying to put all the blame on the IG. Efforts should be made to report the conduct of these officers to the immediate officers in their various commands.

You have the CP’s number, as well as the contact details of the Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers. We should stop passing the buck; the police are expected to conduct themselves well but if anybody should exceed his powers, his conduct should be reported and instances abound how the police authorities disciplined errant ones. The recent efforts of the IG to even release the numbers of senior officers and offices where conducts of the SARS should be reported to is enough for members of the public to take advantage of so that at least we can all contribute to a better and more efficient community policing.

In community policing, it is not the police doing it alone; the community should play its own role by reporting the activities and conducts of these men because already a department has been created for members of the public to report any policeman that misuses his power. •Mr. Olusola Amore (Retired Commissioner of Police)

I must say with all due respect that the officers and men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad are the greatest violators of the fundamental human rights of the average Nigerian citizen in this democratic dispensation. In fact, the operatives become more intimidating under the present Inspector-General of Police. The worst of this is that they are being given red-carpet treatment despite their crimes.

This is impunity. The question as to whether the IG has kept his promise to reform SARS is negative. This is because they are perpetrating evil acts daily. There is no single day that you won’t hear of a human rights violations perpetrated by SARS operatives. They have become so notorious that the IG himself can no longer control them. If a superior officer gives an order and the subordinates do not obey such orders, it means the superior no longer has control of his command. The more the IG makes promises on the reformation of SARS, the more the officers become uncontrollable. SARS was created to contain the rising rate of crime in the country. The fresh cases of human rights abuse are a sign that the IGP has yet to implement the needed changes in SARS unit.

It is not enough to make a press release that a situation would be curtailed. It is nobler to see the situation curtailed. The IG would do good by Nigerians if his promises are kept. Also, the process of recruitment of the operatives of SARS should be checked because most of these officers are not representing the Nigeria Police Force well.

The average SARS operative in today’s Nigeria represents intimidation, force, torture, harassment and extortion instead of safety and responsiveness. So many Nigerians have lost their lives and money to them. This is bad. This is not good for our growing national development and nascent democracy. Our country operates on laws and orders. The IG should invoke the law on erring officers. Officers and men that are not representing the Nigeria Police Force properly should be prosecuted in court. It is not enough to dismiss them from the force; it is more laudable to prosecute them in the court of law. • Habeeb Whyte (Legal practitioner)   

By the provisions of Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution and the Police Act, which empower the IG to determine the administrative and operational structure of the police, he can create such units like the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Although the IG promised to reform SARS when the complaints of Nigerians against the excesses of the unit became incessant, he has not carried out any reform. If there has been any reform, it would have manifested in the operational approach of men of SARS. As of today, they are still being accused of abusing the rights of suspects and unnecessary intimidation. Even in the way they dress – apart from a few of them that wear black shirts with SARS written on it – many of them dress in mufti and carry guns which makes many mistake them for terrorists or armed robbers.

The reorganisation which Nigerians demand should be done in the area of their approach. There must be no abuse of suspects because not all suspects are criminals. Their operations should also be limited to crime prevention and not civil matters like collecting debts and land matters.

Their combat readiness must also be improved through regular training and above all, their mode of dressing should change. They should wear distinct units like those in the Mobile Unit; Special Protection Unit and Counter-Terrorism Unit. This will make Nigerians respect them more and appreciate their efforts. Also, allegation of abuse of rights or extortion must be thoroughly investigated and it must be made known to the public because the police are serving members of the public. Each state must contribute certain amounts of money to a pool where money can be drawn to equip the police. • Mr. Adenitan Akinola (A former PRO, National Association of Nigerian Students)

The police force, as an institution, has a lot of issues bedevilling it. As a whole, it has suffered government neglect for a very long time. What we see as a concern today as regards the Special-Anti Robbery Squad is a reflection arising from the decadence of the Nigerian police institution. In assessing the performances SARS, it is incumbent on us to first ascertain some remote issues such as the police budget, welfare, motivation, insurance and other appreciable conditions of service.

In 2016, the police authority submitted a budget of N17bn for the actualisation of effective operations. But only N6bn was released. While we try to delve into some of the challenges faced by men and officers of the police force, it is important we don’t  justify the unprofessional conduct of police officers who have seen their job as an opportunity to take advantage of the system in going off track.

The Inspector-General of Police can only do little if the wellbeing and condition of service is not good enough to engender good conduct expected of a police officer. It is one thing for the IG to issue guidelines of operation to men of SARS and another thing to make the working tools available. In the real sense of it all, SARS was originally formed to serve as a strike force in a case of serious criminal emergency. But what we have found in their operations, in recent times, is way off that course.

Their interests have shifted to going after Internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Yahoo boys, and other irrelevant issues like debt recovery among other civil matters. However, the reform adopted by the police hierarchy will only end up as a normal official statement to garner public confidence and trust if the police officer is not guaranteed of his pension, compensation as a result of suffering any form of hazard in the line of duty, life insurance for himself and family, good salary and procurement of working gadgets by the government and other incentive.

There are also incidences of speculative kickbacks to superior officers of the police which could have also contributed to the unprofessional conduct of some officers of SARS  who may want to curry favour from their bosses to get juicy postings. But in all of these, one can still find some professional and refined officers of SARS who do their jobs conscientiously without recourse to satisfying personal interest. •Osazee Edigin (Spokesman, Edo Civil Society Organisations)

It is obvious that the IG has not reformed SARS. The unit continues to be a major threat to the lives and livelihood of Nigerians. Nigerians are daily threatened by the existence of these semi-terrorists in uniform living among us. Every single day, you hear heart-breaking stories; they go about harassing citizens, killing people at will, torturing citizens with impunity. It is bad enough that the government is not doing enough for the common man, but those who are meant to protect the common man are doing worse than even the terrorists would. Look at the activities of SARS operatives since when the IG said he would reform the squad.

They have only got worse and if we allow this sort of impunity to continue, there is a heavy ill-wind that is coming. If we don’t take care, all of us would be swept away by the tumultuous wind. It is important that the IG, in the interest of his reputation and in the interest of Nigeria, make good his promise to the people. My expectation is that the IG will immediately end SARS in the police force.

We want sincere people-oriented reforms to be carried out in the police. As it stands today, the policemen are underpaid, they are working under strenuous conditions; many of them don’t have homes of their own. The retired ones have not been paid their gratuities. There are endless issues plaguing the policemen psychologically, mentally and physically and these reforms should incorporate all these.

•Ralph Adebayo (activist and National Secretary, #OurMumuDonDo coalition)