Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome has said the position of prominent northern leaders on the recent disbandment of th
Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome has said the position of prominent northern leaders on the recent disbandment of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SARS, by the federal government again, validates the need for urgent restructuring.
Ozekhome who spoke against the backdrop of remarks credited to the chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Plateau state Simon Lalong that the North is against the dissolution of SARS, noted that in preferring to stick with SARS, the nation should now be restructured to enable the component parts decide on what works for them.
Governor Lalong had while briefing President Muhammadu Buhari recently on the issue said: “Some people said they don’t want SARS, some said they want SARS but a reformed SARS. They want a reformed SARS because as far as they are concerned, some of these SARS operatives help them in addressing insecurity.
“Our opinion and conclusion at this stage is that let us not just say that we are throwing away the baby with the bath water. If there are good ones, you don’t chase them away. So as SARS is banned, we are now looking forward to an opinion because most of the states in the North said no. They want SARS because SARS helps them.
“It would be recalled that few days after the disbandment of the police special unit, a non-governmental organization, Digital Home with Internal Solution, DHIS founded by Ambassador Ibrahim Bala Aboki faulted what it called the “hurried” dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Nigerian Police Force by Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, saying the development is capable of posing a serious security threat across the country.
Protest against SARS and police brutality has continued nationwide in the past one week with some governors reportedly embarrassed by a mass of youths registering their displeasure on the state of affairs in the country.
