The Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a special arm of the Nigeria Police Force, cannot be scrapped because of the ongoing fight against crimes in the country.
Public Relations Officer of the force, Frank Mba, said this during an Instagram live chat with Nigerian musician, Naira Marley.
The Police will continue to reform operations of SARS across the country to improve its efficiency and reduce the excesses attributed to the squad.
The force PRO encouraged Nigerians to take video recordings of SARS operatives who abuse their fundamental human rights “as long as it is safe to do so.”
“What we need to do is to reform SARS and make them responsive, responsible and make them to work in accordance with laid down procedures.
“We need them to continue to respond to violent crimes. We need them to continue to respond to armed robberies. We need them to continue to respond to kidnappings.”
When Naira Marley brought up the issue of citizens who have been harassed because of how they dressed, DCP Mba noted that police officers have been issued a stern warning to respect the choices of citizens and as such no one should be accosted for such things as wearing dreadlocks or tattoos.
Also, Naira Marley agreed that the special arm of the Police should not be scrapped but be reformed.
While agreeing on the need to keep and reform SARS, Naira Marley also urged the Police to give an update on SARS operatives that have been arrested and what has been done to compensate the families of the victims allegedly killed by SARS officers.
