THE nineteen governors of the northern part of the country have expressed their decision to reject the recent dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force.
Their rejection was communicated to newsmen on Friday in Abuja by Simon Lalong, Plateau State Governor, who also serves as their chairman, shortly after a with President Muhammadu Buhari.
“SARS is not made up of bad elements alone as it also includes personnel who are doing their work diligently,” he said.
While noting that the police need reforms to enable it to discharge its duty optimally, Lalong added the dissolved unit of the police has been useful in the fight against insecurity in the region.
The rejection by the governors comes at a time when Nigerian youths are staging protests across major cities in the country to demand an end to police brutality being perpetrated by the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
In response to the agitation which has also claimed the lives of some of the protesters, Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) announced the disbandment of the dreaded unit. The Police Chief also announced the formation of a new unit that would replace SARS.
President Muhammadu Buhari had also issued a directive, calling for a reform of the police force.
However, the protests have continued, with the protesters issuing a five-point demand which includes the release of all persons arrested and justice for victims of police brutality.
Other demands are “setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct (within 10 days), psychological evaluation of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed, and increase in police salary so that they can be adequately compensated for protecting lives and property of citizens.”
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