The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has commended the Inspector-General
of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, for banning the operations of the
Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and a range of other Tactical
Squads of the Force.
The Forum Chairman, Dr Kayode Fayemi, in a statement issued on Monday in
Abuja, called for appropriate sanctions against law enforcement officers
who had become lawless and irresponsible in the exercise of their duties
against ordinary Nigerians.
Fayemi, who is also the Governor of Ekiti State, said that the governors
received with great relief and satisfaction the decision to ban the
operations of that arm of the force with immediate effect.
“We also completely agree with the directive of the IGP that no
personnel of the Force is authorized to embark on patrols or tactical
assignments in mufti forthwith.
“This, in our view, will significantly reduce the various infractions of
the Force that the ordinary Nigerian people have been complaining about.
“We also believe this will bring an end to the menace of SARS brutality
on the people they are meant to protect.
“The IGP’s instructions could not have come at a better time when the
majority of Nigerians are unhappy with this group of police officers who
have routinely engaged in unlawful killings and torture, thereby giving
the Force a bad name.
“It is helpful to recall that SARS has been cautioned for the same
behaviour before only for it to go back to its old ways.
“Our young people should not be criminalized simply on account of how
they look or their mode of dressing or the cars they drive, the type of
phones they carry, etc. This is an assault on their fundamental human
rights.
“We think this is a timely clinical response by the leadership of the
Nigerian Police Force and I must commend IGP Adamu for his promptness
and boldness.
Fayemi expressed the hope that the announcement would promptly be
followed by action and that there would be no reversal to the unorthodox
enforcement practices being complained against. (NAN)