Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra, paid a visit to the headquarters of the disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) in the Awkuzu area of the st
Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra, paid a visit to the headquarters of the disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) in the Awkuzu area of the state and granted three detainees who committed minor offenses unconditional bail.
The former offices, located at Neni, Ekwulobia and Awkuzu were visited by the governor under the rain, so as to have first hand knowledge of the state of the facilities. At Neni, the governor inspected the facilities, including the cells, where nobody was being detained, while the Awkuzu office has been converted to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) office.
Obiano toured the premises, including the interrogation room. Speaking, Obiano said that the Commissioner of Police in the state has released everyone detained illegally. He also said those remanded by the order of the court, will remain in custody until their cases are determined.
The governor said he will inaugurate the panel of enquiry headed by a Retired Chief Judge on Monday. He said the panel will entertain public petitions within a month and advise the Governor accordingly, promising to address the demands of the protesters.
The governor’s visit comes 24 hours after police opened fire to disperse protesters who converged on the place to demand an end to brutality.
The protesters, who were led by Chinedu Okoli, highlife maestro better known as Flavour; Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike, a rapper better known as Phyno, Kingsley Okonkwo, singer better known as Kcee, were chanting “End SARS! End SARS!”.
The massive crowd had converged on Awka, the state capital, from where they moved to the disbanded SARS office to demand the shut down of the facility.
The Akwuzu SARS office led by James Nwafor, a former security aide of Obiano, has been accused of gross misconduct, arbitrary arrests, torture and extra-judicial killings.
While endorsing the #EndSARS protest on Thursday, the governor had announced that Nwafor would be prosecuted. The governor said he would visit all the SARS offices in the state and ensure the immediate release of protesters that have been detained by the police.
