SARS operatives stripped of power to detain suspects—Lagos CP

LAGOS State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, says operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the state have been stripped of the authority to unilaterally detain suspects.

Odumosu stated this on Tuesday morning while featuring on Channels Television‘s programme, Sunrise Daily.

He added that he held a lecture with the officers of the Force yesterday to sensitise them on the new directives of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and the need to abide by it strictly.

There had been outrage across the country two days ago over the harassment, extortion and extra-judicial killings of innocent Nigerians by SARS operatives.

Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, were among Nigerians who registered their dissatisfaction over the conduct of the operatives, describing it as unacceptable.

The Vice-President, who did not hide his anger, even said it would be hard for anyone to spot the difference between a thief and some members of SARS considering their mode of operation.

Osinbajo, however, added that “some bad eggs” in the police force are those besmirching the reputation of the Nigeria police force.

But in a swift reaction to the nationwide backlash against the growing lawlessness of SARS, the Inspector General of Police, Adamu banned the operatives from engaging in routine patrols, stop-and-search, mounting of roadblocks and traffic checks with immediate effect.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Lagos Commissioner of Police said the recent directive by the IGP will be more effective than earlier directives issued to curtail the excesses of SARS operatives.

Odumosu said, “It is going to be different because there will be more monitoring and more supervision.

“The additional directive I gave yesterday (Monday) is that they must not even go to investigate any case without booking their arrival at the Area Commander’s office so that the Area Commander will know that they are in that area doing what they ought to do. And once they finish, they must go back and file entry.

“Secondly, I gave a directive that they must not detain anybody in their cells any longer. They can only detain at my office or at the Area Commander’s office. And the Area Commander must interview any suspect they want to detain and ascertain that the suspect had done what warranted being detained.

“All these are additional measures put in place to make sure that the supervision is effective. So, there is more supervision now and it going to be more effective now.”