The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF)
and Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, says in places where
F-SARS is effective, the people should allow them to
work.
Mr. Fayemi in a skype interview on Channels Television’s
Politics Today said while he supports the youths’ protest
against police brutality and asking for a police force that is
accountable, it is pertinent to note that “in areas where
F-SARS has been efficient and effective we should really allow them
to continue to do the work”.
READ ALSO: #EndSWAT Protesters Storm National
Assembly
The governor said there is nothing wrong with what the young
people are doing, adding that they should be encouraged to ask more
questions.
Fayemi noted that it is important the nation engages and gets to
the bottom of all that is being agitated about at the moment.
He assured Nigerians that with the level of engagements that are
going on in various quarters, those who have been found culpable of
human rights abuses in the F-SARS unit will be brought to book.
SARS helps some states to fight
insecurity
Earlier in the day, the Northern Governors Forum called for the
reformation of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the
country.
Speaking during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in
Abuja, Chairman of the Forum and Plateau State Governor, Simon
Lalong, said SARS operatives helped the northern region tackle
insecurity in some states.
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“As SARS is banned, we are now looking forward to an opinion
because most of the states in the north said no,” he said.
“They want SARS because SARS help them. A lot of SARS people
help them. Borno Said if not SARS, WE would not have been surviving
today, Niger and almost all parts.
“If we are addressing it like that, what is going wrong in some
places? Is it the process of recruitment? Is it the character of
people?”
While noting that his colleagues in the region want the entire
police architecture to be reformed, the governor said states like
Borno and Niger have benefitted from the efforts of SARS operatives
in fighting terrorism and banditry.
On Sunday, the IGP announced the disbandment of SARS following
nationwide protests against police brutality by the unit.
Thousands of protesters across the country have been protesting
for over a week against the harassment, extortion, and
extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force.
The police authorities in response to the outcry of the
protesters disbanded the SARS unit and announced the setting up of
the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit as its replacement but
the protests and demonstrations continue nationwide with hashtags
#EndSWAT, #EndSARS, #EndPoliceBrutality dominating social media
trends.