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Tag: SARS

  • Police kill one, injured two in shootout with robbers

    Operatives of the Abia State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have killed a member of a robbery gang terrorising Obingwa Local Government Area and its environs.

    The Nation learnt that the robbers stormed a neighboring village, where they robbed several shops and houses before storming Mgboko Obingwa.

    It was learnt that while they were carrying out another operation at Mgboko, the SARS operatives, acting on intelligence stormed the area.

    Read Also: No herdsmen gun cache in Anambra – Police

    The three-man gang exchanged gunfire with the policemen.

    One of them died, two others escaped with wounds.

    Police spokesman Geoffrey Ogbonna couldn’t be reached for comments.

  • SARS’ endless impunity

    THE Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is a branch of the Nigeria Police Force under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). As the name implies, their duty is to be investigative as their emergence was targeted at fighting violent crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping and communal clashes.

    However, the squad, in a very uncanny way, has assumed a very scary and infamous status akin only to its medical name equivalent, SARS – ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome’. Their operational mechanics is replete with nationwide tales of a Hobbesian level. To the average Nigerian, the name SARS evokes images of official impunity, extortion, deaths, bullying, threats and general abuse of official power.

    For some time now, the #ENDSARS advocacy has been trending on the social media as citizens who had been  victims of the unlawful and sometimes deadly antics of the agency formed the advocacy group to force the government to reform or abolish the squad. Since then, no remarkable reform seems to have occurred either with staff training, job description or respect for the rule of law. If anything, there are more deaths and dehumanising stories by victims.

    The latest victim of the unbelievable brutality of SARS is The Nation’s South South Regional Manager, Sola O’neil, who escaped being shot by mere providence on his trip around Okada junction in Edo State, a few days ago.  Sola was not travelling alone. Their vehicle was stopped and all their electronic gadgets confiscated. They were harassed, insulted and physically and verbally abused in ways that made them regret their citizenship of a country that can tolerate such official impunity  against  unarmed citizens.

    Read Also: ‘My near-death encounter with blood-thirsty men of Edo SARS’

    In the normal terrorising style of SARS, the passengers were all thoroughly  humiliated, their privacy invaded as the SARS officers forced them to unlock their electronic  gadgets and phones, their personal effects strewn on the highway and their personalities degraded and impugned. The last straw was when one of the officers, after physically abusing the journalist, corked his gun and was ready to, in his words, ‘waste’ the journalist but for the intervention of another  man in the environment.

    The most terrifying aspect of the journalist’s encounter with the untagged SARS operatives was the fact that the chief tormentor had the effrontery, after the passengers had been allowed to board the vehicle , to go back to tell the journalist that he was lucky that it was not yet dark or else he would have shot him dead under the cover of darkness. This is very poignant. There seems to have been no prosecution of offending SARS operatives; so no deterrent.

    Equally disturbing is the fact that the whole officers were all in sync about the brutalisation of regular Nigerians, but on finding out the status of one of the passengers, they seemed to mellow down and blame him for not quickly identifying himself. Ironically and sadly too, the officers had seized their phones and threatened anyone who by any means wanted to record the incident. Now, this says something the Nigerian government and the police authorities must ponder seriously.

    Read Also: Journalist recounts ordeal in F-SARS men’s hands in Rivers

    We are appalled by the lack of action to reform SARS after citizens and even Amnesty International had documented its atrocities, ranging from extra-judicial killings to extortions and bullying. If Nigerian government can condemn acts of racism and xenophobia but tolerate the impunity of SARS, the world can never understand the value we have for life and the dignity of the human person.

    For an agency under the police to act with so much perverted sense of justice, and the fact that the #ENDSARS campaigns that have been on the global stage did not spur government to action is an ill-wind that blows no one any good. Tales of SARS woes from all parts of the country in a democracy that should operate under strict adherence to the rule of law should worry the Inspector-General of Police.

    Again, we appeal to the government to live up to the demands of governments which must guarantee the security of lives and property. It tastes sour in the mouth that a squad sustained with tax payers’ money drills the people under some dire Hobbesian state where life is short, nasty and brutish. The irony of replacing robbers, kidnappers and other social miscreants with an institutionalised terror group that SARS has turned into is retrogressive, to say the least.

  • Oyebode, Falana, others advocate SARS reform

    The Coalition for Good Governance and Justice has held a workshop for the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), reports ADEBISI ONANUGA.

    At inception, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) set up for crime prevention and control recorded many successes.

    But today, they have become notorious for violation of rights and extra-judicial killings, with calls intensifying for its disbandment.

    Members of the Coalition for Good Governance and Justice were in Uyo for a three-day training of SARS men and officers of the Akwa-Ibom State Command.

    The theme was: Continuous Relevance of SARS under the current democratic dispensation.

    No fewer than 200 officers and men of SARS, anti-cultism, anti-kidnapping and other units of the command participated.

    ‘In the news for wrong reasons’

    Professor of International Law at the University of Lagos, Akin Oyebode, in his paper titled: The rule of law between SARS and armed robbers: Case for adherence to rule of law and constitutionally guaranteed rights by officers and men of SARS department,  noted that since its creation, SARS had been in the news more for bad reason than good.

    Oyebode recalled that SARS came into being in an effort to eliminate all armed threats to peaceful co-existence in the society.

    He believes that SARS is Nigeria’s answer to SWAT and such like paramilitary forces across the world charged with combating  urban crime and virulent elements of the underworld who deprive the people of their peace.

    Oyebode, however, stressed men of SARS must hold the right to life and the presumption of innocence as well as the principle of commen-suration  sacrosanct in their law enforcement efforts.

    “A situation in which trigger-happy operatives shoot first before asking questions or loss of life is occasioned by ‘accidental discharge’ is not only untenable but deserving of good and effective sanction.

    It would seem, therefore, that special forces such as SARS are a necessary evil in today’s world but nothing is to be spared in ensuring that they operate within the ambit of law lest they become a remedy worse than the disease they were set up to cure in the first place.

    “Accordingly, since SARS is a law enforcement agency, it goes without saying that it is duty bound to abide by the dictates of law.

    “Any agency of government which acts with impunity has no place in an environment which upholds the rule of law,” he argued.

    Falana: Challenge infringements

    Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), who spoke main theme,  agreed with Prof. Oyebode that rather than disband SARS, operatives of the squad should be continuously trained, equipped and motivated to deal with dangerous crimes in the society.

    Convinced that police brutality cannot end in an atmosphere of impunity, Falana urged the National Assembly to repeal Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act.

    The section provides that a judgment creditor cannot garnishee the accounts of a public institution without seeking and obtaining the fiat of Attorneys-General.

    He argued that the colonial legacy cannot be justified under section 287 of the Constitution which stipulates that the decisions of the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court shall be enforced by all authorities and persons in Nigeria.

    He also argued that since the human rights community and individual civil rights advocates alone cannot successfully protect the people from the increasing wave of human rights abuse by security forces in the country, it is time that the victims of human rights abuse were mobilized to defend themselves.

    “Therefore, the human rights community should immediately embark on massive enlightenment programmes to empower the people to challenge the infringement of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act.

    “Indigent members of the public whose human rights are violated by the police and other law enforcement agencies are enjoined to contact any of the committees of the 125 branches of the Nigerian Bar Association spread across the country,” he said.

    Falana said as part of the reform strategy, SARS operatives who subject criminal suspects to torture should henceforth be identified and prosecuted while any of them convicted should be made to pay part of the damages to any victim.

    The learned silk  referred to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which if implemented, can put an end to the atrocities of the SARS and other law enforcement agencies.

    He stated for instance that the law has banned the police from subjecting criminal suspects to torture or degrading or inhuman treatment.

    Falana pointed out that victims of human rights abuse have the right to file an application in a high court in the state where the violation has occurred or may occur.

    “Even the dependants or representatives of any suspect killed in police custody or in any other detention centre may file a civil claim in a high court for damages payable by the Nigeria Police Force or any other authority or person,” he said.

    He advised  indigent citizens who cannot afford the services of legal practitioners to secure the enforcement of their abused fundamental rights have the right to request the Legal Aid Council to provide legal representation for them.

    In the alternative, victims of human rights abuse have the right to lodge a complaint or submit a petition to the National Human Rights Commission or the Office of the Public Defender or Non-Governmental human rights bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association.

    ‘Police must operate by law’

    Mrs. Gloria Egbuji who presented a paper titled: Promoting democracy through law abiding law enforcement officials, noted that police could only promote democracy when they respect the laws and know the limit of their power.

    She noted that the Police as an arm of law enforcement officials, must protect lives and enforce the law in accordance with the legal documents.

    Egbuji said where police work in accordance with the law, they become major support and critical in democracy for smooth running of government.

    Dwelling on the code of conduct for law enforcement officials, she urged  them to at all times fulfill the duty imposed on them  by the law by serving the community and protecting all persons against illegal acts, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their profession.

    Speaking on The roles and functions of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Executive Director of Centre for the Rule of Law, Olasupo Ojo traced the historical emergence of SARS as a tactical unit of the Police Force, its activities over the years vis-à-vis the rights of the citizenry.

    He submitted that the key to  understanding and successful application of the training in human rights to their career in the police is to always approach it from the interconnected human rights perspective in order to be human rights compliant.

    ‘Tackle corruption’

    A consultant educationist and human rights activist, Debo Adeniran, who delivered paper on the sub-theme: Understanding Corruption and the Role of the Police in curbing it, said if the country aspires to build a civil police force, it must first locate correctly why corruption is prevalent in the force and carry out the necessary institutional reforms as well as systemic overhaul to make the society a better place to live for this generation and those to come.

    He said: “The Police force is vital to guaranteeing peace, protection of lives and properties which are essential ingredients  for growth and development.

    “Thus, any society that is serious about stability and socio-economic advancement must pay premium attention to its civil force.”

    He, however, noted that “the under-funding, ill-equipment, lack of proper training and motivation of the Force led to the proliferation of several anti-corruption agencies to tackle different corruption related cases.

    IGP speaks                                                                                                                                                                                  In his goodwill message, the Acting  Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammed Adamu reiterated what he had said in his maiden address on assumption of office.

    He said his appointment represents a call to duty and a charge to restore the dwindling primacy of the Police within the internal security architecture of Nigeria.

    He urged participants and other police personnel to always be at alert to judge their behaviours within and outside the public space as they carry out their duties as law enforcement agents.

    Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom Police,  Mr. Zaki Ahmed, said the training came at the right time.

    Communique

    A communiqué issued after the training noted the increase in police brutality and abuse of human rights as well the consequential degradation of police-citizen relationship.

    It observed that the protection of human rights should be seen as a priority in the discharge of the duties of the police; that Police officers have inadequate knowledge of their code of conduct, and that there is need to encourage and inculcate reading habits in officers and men.

    Among the recommendations are:

    • Police should be motivated to perform effectively.
    • There should be demilitarisation and re-orientation of SARS.
    • Police officers indicted for human rights abuse should be made to pay part of the damages awarded by courts in favour of the claimants.
    • Illegal parade of suspects and media trial of armed robbery suspects by the Police should be abolished.
    • By virtue of section 2 (xi) of the Anti Torture Act, 2017, the parade of criminal suspects has been criminalised.
    • Killing of every armed robbery suspect should be investigated by a coroner.
    • Properties and monies belonging to armed robbery suspects should be forfeited to the government and not cornered and distributed by police officials.
    • SARS should be completely demilitarised while the police operatives should be well trained, equipped and motivated.
    • Governments should provide incentives and insurance package for SARS operatives.
    • Apart from operatives in the intelligence section, others SARS personnel who are on duty should wear police uniforms.
    • Operatives must undergo compulsory training in human rights while police personnel in SARS should not serve for more than four years SARS.
    • National Assembly and Houses of Assembly should amend Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act and similar laws.
    • There is a need to re-configure SARS.
    • SARS functionaries should inculcate new values emphasizing respect for rule of law and fundamental human rights.
    • Efforts should be made to adhere to international best practices in relation to the operation of SARS.

  • Alleged sex scandal rocks Police unit

    A special police outfit, the Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS), an arm of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) based in Abeokuta, Ogun State, is enmeshed in controversy as the wife of a suspect being investigated by its operatives alleged that one of them took advantage of the investigation to rape her twice in her home at gunpoint, reports KUNLE AKINRINADE.

    AN air of indictment hangs over a special police outfit, the Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS), in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, four years after it was created to tackle crimes and lawlessness in the state. A sergeant attached to the squad is fingered in the rape of the wife of a suspect the squad was investigating for alleged inter-state robbery and fraudulent practices.

    The Police Sergeant (names withheld), a special detective in charge of tracking criminals and their accomplices, is accused by the suspect’s wife, Oluwakemi (surname withheld), of raping her twice at gunpoint in her home in Abeokuta.

    The woman, who said she was compelled to flee the country shortly after the police sergeant allegedly raped her the second time, said she decided to open up, following alleged threats by the errant policeman to deal with her if she spills the bean on their encounters.

    The 39-year-old woman said she was yet to overcome the trauma she went through at the hands of the Police Sergeant.

    Reliving her ordeal in a conversation with our correspondent, Oluwakemi, the victim of the alleged rape, opted to speak in Yoruba “so that my explanation will be clear to you.”

    She said: “In 2015, I started working (as sales supervisor) at a lounge inside the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta. By

    early 2016, I started receiving calls from a stranger, and I told my husband about it.

    “I told my husband that the caller identified himself to me and said that he wanted to find out some things about him (husband). My husband does not live with me because he has other wives, but he visits regularly. My husband said I should ask him to come to my place of work if he needed any information. The policeman called me again and I told him to come over to where I was working if

    he had anything to ask me about my husband.

    “When he showed up, he identified himself as an operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) attached to ZIS. He started saying that he would have disgraced and brutalised me if I was not a woman. He said  he had been trailing one Ibrahim and found my GSM number on his mobile telephone.

    “I responded by telling him that the person he had just mentioned is my husband. Then he said my husband was a robber and he was trying to track him. I told him that my husband is not a robber but a printer and businessman whose printing press is located in Ago Iwoye area of Ogun State, where he also has another wife that operates a big shop. He said he would need my cooperation to get to my husband, but I told him that my husband was not a criminal and that he should not be disturbing me.

    ”The people around us did not know what was going on because the conversation was just between us. He tried to intimidate me by saying that I was once arrested when my husband was being trailed by the police. But I told him that the case he was talking about was about a disagreement my husband had with his business partners over money and that I was eventually released. After that, he left.”

    Read also: Police to retrain officers, men on arms handling

    Oluwakemi said he thought the matter had ended only to realise later that she was gravely mistaken, as the Police Sergeant, according to her, showed up again a few weeks later. This time, however, he was not there to ask Oluwakemi about her husband’s whereabouts. He and some friends he came with, she alleged,  simply enjoyed themselves at the lounge and asked her to pick the bill.

    She said: “He returned a few weeks later with some of his friends and bought a lot of drinks and refreshments without paying a dime. He simply dropped the bill on me. I could not refuse it because he is a policeman.

    “A few months later, I left the employ

    of the lounge to concentrate on my small business at Ijemo in Abeokuta. I guess he went to my former place of work but he was told that I had resigned. He called me on my mobile phone and accused me of running away, saying that he had information on my shop and residence.

    “I was shocked the day he showed up at my shop. He took some drinks and other provisions without paying a dime. He also visited my shop at other times, taking items away without paying a dime. I could not prevent him from taking the items away because I was hapless and there was no one I could call to fight for me since he is a policeman.’’

    Contimue in page 2

  • Oyo police arrest 21 robbery suspects terrorising Ibadan

    Nemesis has caught up with suspected dare devil criminals terrorising the residents of the city of Ibadan and environs as the state Police Command said it has arrested 21 suspected armed robbers between January and March this year.

    The 21 suspects, according to the police would soon be charged to court for prosecution immediately after investigation is concluded.

    Items recovered from the suspects included exotic vehicles, mobile phones, motorcycles, tricycles, locally made pistols, live cartridges , cutlasses, criminal charms , axes, ATM card, driver’s license and the sum of twelve thousand five hundred and fifty naira cash .

    Speaking with newsmen at the Eleyele , Ibadan police headquarters on Monday during the parade of the suspects , the Oyo state Police Commissioner , Mr Shina Olukolu said the command was poised to nip in the bud activities of criminal elements , adding the arrest of the 21 armed robbery suspects was part of the efforts to stamp out crimes and criminality in the state.

    Among the achievements of the command in the attempt to flush out criminal elements , was the recovery of hijacked truck loaded with 22 brands of new tricycles intercepted at gun point from the driver , one Mohammed (m) and two motor boys around Akinyele trailer park , Ibadan , along Ibadan/Oyo Expressway by unknown gun men.

    “Sequel to this, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives led by CSP Olusola Aremu swung into action and this led to the recovery of the truck with 18 out of the 22 tricycles at Sagamu in Ogun state,” the Commissioner of Police said.

    Read Also: Five suspected IPOB members nabbed for burning Anambra police station

    Some of the 21 armed robbery suspects arrested by the police included a prime suspect, Gabriel Olatunji (m), and four criminal receivers , Lekan Ajayi (m), Ismail Ogunsola (m) , Akin Alonso (m), and Tope Ezekiel (m) .

    Items recovered from them are five exotic cars including a Honda Accord car with registration number MUS 481, Toyota Camry car with registration number LSR 514 EH , Toyota Camry car with registration number FE 379 LND , Toyota Camry car with registration number KJA 747 BH , and Honda Bull Dog car with registration number KEY 827 ET.

    According to the Commissioner of Police, on March 17, 2019, around 9.30 pm , one Saidi Eniola was attacked and dispossessed of his Toyota Camry car at Iyana Church area of Ibadan by some unknown hoodlums armed with guns and some other dangerous weapons , and consequent upon this, a distress call with put across to the police who later arrested the prime suspect and four criminal receivers .

    Speaking further on the arrest of two prime suspects, Adeleke Fatai (m), and Opoola Muritala (m), and others at Oyo town, the state Police Commissioner narrated how some notorious hoodlums who specialises in attacking motorcyclists and dispossessing them of their motorcycles in different part of Oyo state were arrested by his men.

    “Sequel to a distress call, a team of SARS operatives led by CSP Sola Aremu swung into action and in the process, two of the hoodlums who later identified themselves as Adeleke Fatai and Opoola Garuba were arrested in their hideout.

    “Upon interrogation, they confessed to have masterminded series of such criminal activities in various parts of Oyo state. The confessional statement later led to the arrest of four of their criminal receivers. Meanwhile, five Bajaj motorcycles which they confessed to have snatched from their owners were recovered from the hoodlums and the criminal receivers,” he said.

  • Heavy security after assassination attempt on Abiodun, running mate

    A detachment of armed policemen and Special Anti – robbery Squad (F -SARS) took over Abeokuta and its environs on Thursday following alleged botched attempt on the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Dapo Abiodun and his running mate, Engr. Noimot Oyedele – Salako in Mokola – Elega area of the state capital by suspected political thugs.

    The armed policemen and SARS were deployed by the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, to the seedy Elega area and other flashpoints to restore normalcy and forestall further outbreak of violence, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, told The Nation.

    Abiodun and his running mate were attacked by thugs wielding guns, cutlasses and cudgels after blocking their access way with cars on approaching the Mokola junction near Akomoje in Abeokuta North Local during campaign tour of the area.

    They later opened fire on his campaign train and smashed things on sight.

    There was chaos, tension and pandemonium at the rustic neighbourhood as security Operatives in the convoy of the APC governorship candidate fired repeatedly into the air to scare the attackers away.

    They also cleared the obstructions for quick and safe evacuation of Abiodun and the running mate from spot, but the attackers, it was learnt, audaciously held on to the reign of terror momentarily before they beat a retreat.

    In the pandemonium and ensuing stampede, some of the fear-stricken party members, supporters and innocent passers-by fell on one another as they scampered to safety when gunshots rang out repeatedly.

    It was learnt the assault was allegedly sponsored by a federal lawmaker from Ogun Central, who is a candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), who was allegedly sighted fleeing the scene when the situation took a worrisome dimension.

    It was further gathered the attackers having been dislodged at the Mokola – Elega area later regrouped by noon and stormed the junction of Ori – Omi Sokori area.

    They threatened Abiodun to emerge from a stakeholders’ meeting at Akin Olugbade Social Centre, Abeokuta but his supporters resisted them.

    The prompt intervention of more detachment of armed Policemen hurried to the scene, saved the day as the suspected thugs were chased away.

    Reacting to the latest attack on him, Abiodun said: “When we were approaching Mokola Junction in Abeokuta North Local government, we saw some group of people approaching us, we realised that they were fully armed.

    “Suddenly they started shooting. Thank God for the gallant policemen who were on ground and rose up to the occasion and chased them away.

    “If not for them, only God knows what would have happened today. It is unfortunate that our politics has gotten to this level where it has become do- or- die affair.

    “We should rather canvass for votes and endear ourselves to the people. That is the only way that we would have peaceful election.

    Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, when contacted said policemen, including area Commanders, have been deployed to the affected areas to restore normalcy.

  • I will bring prosperity back to Nigeria -Atiku

    As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), presidential campaign hits Kaduna on Thursday, its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar promised to bring back wealth and prosperity to Nigeria if voted into power in Feb. 16 presidential poll.

    This was as the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus said that President Muhammadu Buhari has tried, but he has lost the strength to lead a country of 200 million people.

    Atiku who addressed a presidential rally in Hausa, in Kaduna, said there was no hunger and poverty among Nigerians when the PDP was in power.

    He alleged that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) had failed to fulfil it’s 2015 campaign promises, urging electorate to vote the PDP back to power come February 16 to return the nation back to the path of progress.

    The former Vice President said the APC and President Muhammad Buhari had promised to tackle security but failed, as the challenges continued in most part of the country.

    He, however, said the APC and President Buhari must go urging the people to vote the PDP from bottom to top.

    “The PDP is responsible for all the development in this country, but they came and deceived people, and lied to them and, asked them to vote for change, but where is the change.

    “The APC promised to tackle insecurity but the challenges are still here, ravaging the North East, North West and the North Central, have they fulfilled the promises, So why are we going to vote for them?

    “You know that when PDP was in power, there was prosperity, wealth and development.

    “So let me tell if you vote the PDP we shall bring back prosperity, progress, employment and trades to the people. This is a promise we are making to you.

    “I am begging you to vote the PDP from top to bottom and bottom to top. So join me in chanting Buhari must go.APC must go. May God bless you.”

    Earlier, the National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus had said that President Buhari has tried, but no longer have the strength to continue to rule over 200 million people.

    Read Also: Non-indigenes in Ebonyi endorse Atiku

    “It is time to ask President Buhari to go, he has tried, but let him go home and rest. His energy is no more there. We need somebody with a lot of energy that can work for 24 hours.

    “If you vote for APC, the Cabal will be in control of government because Buhari is weak, he cannot rule.

    “We want somebody who has the capacity to rule this country, and that person is Atiku. Atiku will provide jobs, food, security, etc for Nigerians.

    “Nigeria is 200 million people, so Atiku will not sleep until there is food on your table and security of lives and property all over the country. Atiku will not fail you.

    “Don’t listen to APC deceit, Isah Ashiru is your next governor in Kaduna, and vote for all PDP candidates in Kaduna”.

    The PDP national chairman said the era of election rigging is over, saying that nobody can rig election any longer.

    He warned INEC to resist the temptation of rigging the election.

    On his part, the Director-General of the PDP and President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki had earlier said “they promised us security, but there is no security anywhere in Nigeria.

    “There is no security in the North East, no security in the North West, no security in the North Central, no security anywhere in Nigeria

    “They promised us economic development but Nigeria is now the capital of poverty.

    “Come February Nigerians should vote for the PDP in all the elections. We want a better Nigeria, not the propaganda of the APC.”

    Former interim national chairman of PDP, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi said the crowd has confirmed that Kaduna is a PDP state. “We in PDP we don’t abuse whatever. The road, water supply, big educational institutions, secondary school, health facilities you see in Kaduna state was built by PDP.

     

  • SARS: Presidential panel calls for intellient policing

    The Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr. Tony Ojukwu, wants intelligent policing in reforming the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operations.

    Ojukwu, who doubles as Chairman, Presidential Investigation Panel on the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, made the call during a visit by the panel to SARS detention facility in Abuja.

    The panel was set up by the federal government to look into the petitions by members of the public on the operations of SARS and to recommend a way forward.

    He said the visit was for the panel members to see things by themselves.

    “We have always preached prison decongestion, we need to do some background checks; there must be intelligent policing in other to move forward,” he said.

    The chairman stressed the need for officers to minimise or do away with the way they torture inmates or suspects.

    “We don’t benefit much from torture, it only breeds frustration, and the truth cannot be extracted from the person tortured.

     

  • Panel summons ex-Minister, Moro, writes Dankwanbo

    The Presidential Investigation Panel investigating operations of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has summoned former Interior Minister, Abba Moro in relation to his alleged complicity in the purported unlawful arrest, detention and extortion of members of Iwewe Community in Benue State SARS’ operatives.

    The panel, headed by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in an invitation to the ex-Minster, directed him to appear on January 21 when it is expected to resume hearing on a petition by the Iwewe Community, in which they among others, alleged that SARS’ operatives invaded their community and subjected men and women to unlawful arrest, detention and extortion.

    The panel’s decision to invite Moro was informed by its discovery, at the last hearing of the petition marked: NHRC/PSARS/2018/ABJ/17/7924/HQ), that Moro allegedly authored the petition on which the SARS’s operatives acted.

    Some SARS’ operatives, who were earlier invited by the panel, disclosed that their presence in the community; the arrest and detention of members of the community was in furtherance of their investigation of the petition allegedly written by Moro.

    Also, the panel has written the Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwanbo to supply information in relation to circumstances leading to the death of one of his domestic staff, John Okon.

    The panel, while hearing a petition presented by the late Okon’s lawyer, Ballason Gloria Mabeiam, took the decision to write the Gombe Governor to among others, help identify his Aide de Camp (ADC), who allegedly instigated the torture and eventual murder of Okon in the custody of SARS operatives at the Gabassa Police Station, Kaduna.

    According to the deceased’s lawyer, the late Okon was “a personal cook and housekeeper to Governor Dankwanbo at his Kaduna residence.” He was said to reside in the boys’ quarters of the house until November 8, 2018 when the house was burgled and four television sets allegedly stolen.

    Read Also: Shettima promotes three emirs in Borno

    The incident was first reported at the Kabala Coustain Police Station, Kaduna, where Okon, two policemen, two private security guards and a gardener (all six men) were summarily detained.

    It was alleged that upon the instigation of an ADC to the governor, the case was transferred to SARS at Gabasawa Police Station, Kaduna, where Okon was allegedly tortured to death by men of SARS.

    The panel said it was concerned as to why a case of theft and burglary was handed to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad to investigate. It said it intended to establish whether the SARS operatives dabbled into a case outside their area of operations.

    The panel said it expects the governor to respond to its request between now and January 23 when intends to conduct further hearing in the petition.

  • FSARS operative allegedly shot dead LASTMA official in Lagos

    A police inspector attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Ikeja on Wednesday allegedly shot dead an official with the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) while controlling traffic.

    Sources told the News Agency of Nigeria that the LASTMA official, named Adeyemo Rotimi, was shot dead at Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos.

    It was gathered that the LASTMA official was shot dead when he challenged the policeman, identified as Joseph Oki, for disobeying traffic rules.

    It was also  learnt that the victim, popularly known as ‘Baba Ibeji’, had stopped the police inspector who was driving a cream coloured Highlander jeep with registration number plate LSR 277 BJ to allow free flow of traffic.

    It was gathered that the LASTMA official reportedly scolded the policeman for flouting traffic rules.

    According to sources, the policeman, who felt insulted by Adeyemo’s warning, allegedly pulled a pistol and shot the LASTMA official in the eye, killing him on the spot.

    NAN learnt that the policeman attempted to flee the scene but was stopped by the mob.

    It was gathered that some policemen in the area reportedly rescued the FSARS officer from the angry crowd who also damaged his vehicle.

    Contacted, Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Chike Oti, did not deny the incident.

    “I am writing a release on the incident,” Oti said.