SARS operatives will no longer detain suspects —Lagos CP

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, says operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS in the state no longer have the authority to unilaterally detain suspects.

Odumosu, who stated this on Tuesday morning while featuring on Channels Television‘s programme, Sunrise Daily, said he held a sensitisation lecture with the officers of the Force on Monday to sensitise them on the new directive of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

There was outrage across the country on Sunday over the harassment, extortion and extra-judicial killings of innocent Nigerians by SARS operatives.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege; and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, former Senate president, Bukola Saraki, celrgyman, Apostle Johnson Suleman etc were among Nigerians who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of  SARS operatives, describing it as unacceptable.

Adamu had in a swift reaction banned SARS personnel 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.

“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 to make sure that the supervision is effective. So, there is more supervision now and it going to be more effective now.”