Nigeria’s police disbands controversial SARS unit after protests

According to reports, a person who launched The Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria expressed his regret for what the group had transformed into today. He reiterated that the organization had moved away from its original values, and that it had “turned into banditry.”

“Sars of today is not the same Sars I established in 1984,” Fulani Kwajafa reportedly said.

SARS was a branch of the Nigerian Police set up under the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department (SCIID). The squad performed undercover operations against armed robbery, car snatching, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and crimes associated with firearms. 

Since its establishment, the squad has been accused of several human rights violations, failure to socially distance, illegal “stop and searches,” criminal arrests, detentions, extrajudicial killings, sexual harassment of women, and the brutalization of many young Nigerians.

This week, the agency was dismantled by President Muhammadu Buhari after thousands of Nigerians took the street to protest the agency’s brutal actions. Currently, a new agency called Swat has been introduced to replace SARS.  However, protesters have rejected this approach over the belief that violations may simply continue under a new name. 

The hashtag #EndSars has caught the attention of many celebrities globally. Stars such as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Kanye West, Kirk Franklin, Tyrese, and Nigerian superstars Wizkid and Davido were among its harshest critics. 

According to the former Police Chief Mr. Fulani Kwajafa, the SARS squad’s actions may have been driven off of greed.

“I always tell my wife that I was sad [that] what I created with good purpose and direction has been turned into banditry,” Mr. Kwajafa said, adding that he supported the disbandment of the unit one hundred percent.

Subsequent protests in Abuja were banned in efforts to combat COVID-19. Human Rights Watch however has urged authorities to desist from stopping people from using their rights to protest. Police officers who opened fire on protesters that left ten people dead are currently before the courts. 

The federal government has set up a judicial committee to address the history of police misconduct in all 36 states.