Disturbing videos of the SARS (Special Anti-Roberry Squad) brutality have emerged as Nigerian youths insist on carrying on with the end-SARS protests today Saturday.
A young lady also insists that the protests continue to drive home the message that the SARS brutality must come to an end:
According to Tosin Olugbenga, the protests in Lagos will hit the Lagos Airport today. He called on the youth to be ready as they are no longer afraid of the SARS guns:
The end-SARS protests have caught the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari who in turn, instructed the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu to address the concerns of the youth and Nigerians in general.
In a series of tweets on Friday, the President ordered the IG to immediately reform the SARS nationwide.
According to him:
“The IG already has my firm instructions to conclusively address the concerns of Nigerians regarding these excesses, & ensure erring personnel are brought to justice. I appeal for patience & calm, even as Nigerians freely exercise their right to peacefully make their views known.”
After a meeting with IGP Adamu, Buhari updated the nation on the reasons why the reforms must the undertaken:
“I met again with the IGP tonight. Our determination to reform the police should never be in doubt. I am being briefed regularly on the reform efforts ongoing to end police brutality and unethical conduct, and ensure that the Police are fully accountable to the people.”
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was set up to tackle robbery and robbery related crimes.
Unfortunately, many innocent youths are daily harassed, killed or manhandled by the operatives who in most case are not in uniforms or displaying their ID cards.
The SARS targets are often young boys in dreadlocks, those with fancy smart phones, laptops or backpacks. They are also brutalised and killed if they are not willing to part with money.
Most of the killings are extra-judicial and not reported as they operatives often claim accidental bullet discharges or that the victims resist arrests or searches.
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