General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, at a meeting with the
President in Abuja on May 14, 2020.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has
directed immediate investigations into the suit challenging the
legality of the States’ Judicial Panel of Inquiry investigating the
allegations against officers of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS).
Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, disclosed this in a
statement on Thursday hours after the police filed the suit.
“The IGP, who gave the order on the heels of trending reports in
the media, today 3rd December 2020, expressed the disapproval of
the Force Management Team on the matter and ordered investigations
into the alleged role of the Force Legal Section including its
Head.
“Meanwhile, the Force Legal Officer has been queried and may
face further sanctions if found guilty of dereliction of duty,” the
statement read.
According to the IGP, the police remain committed to fulfilling
all their obligations with regards to the disbandment of the
defunct SARS, the ongoing proceedings of the judicial panels, and
all other police reforms.
State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution at a sitting on
November 28, 2020.
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Channels Television had reported that the suit was at
the Federal High Court in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
It seeks to stop the judicial panels of inquiry set up by
various state governments to probe the allegations of police
brutality and human rights abuses by the disbanded SARS and other
police tactical units.
The police, through their lawyer, O.M. Atoyebi, had argued that
the state governments lacked the power to constitute the panels to
investigate activities of the force and its officials in the
conduct of their statutory duties.
They urged the court to restrain the Attorneys-General of the 36
states of the federation and their various panels of inquiry from
going ahead with the probe focussing on police impunity.
Joined as defendants in the suit included the Attorney-General
of the Federation (AGF), the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) which set up the Independent Investigative Panel sitting in
Abuja, the Attorneys-General of the 36 states, as well as the
chairmen of the panels.