The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami Monday has received the list of 35 operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, who have been okayed for prosecution and outright dismissal from the Nigeria Police.
The list of the indicted SARS operatives, drawn from 12 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, was handed to the AGF by Tony Ojukwu, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC)
The affected SARS officers were found culpable of offences ranging from alleged extra-judicial killings, unlawful arrest and detention, threat and intimidation, unfounded allegations, seizure of properties and illegal blockage of accounts of innocent citizens.
Their indictment was contained in a voluminous report that was prepared by a three-man committee that was set-up to review and advise the federal government on implementation of recommendations of the Presidential Panel on Reform of SARS.
Aside from the 35 operatives, the report also recommended a reduction in the rank of 24 others for their alleged involvement in gross violation of human rights.
It further recommended the payment of compensation ranging from N500, 000 to N20million, to some of the identified victims, as well as to families of deceased victims.
While some of the indicted SARS operatives were directed to personally pay the compensation, the Nigeria Police was also found liable and asked to pay some of the victims.
More so, the NPF was directed to, tender apology to some of the victims via Newspaper publications,
Specifically, the document covered reported infractions of SARS operatives in Lagos, Imo, Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Enugu, FCT, Gombe, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, and Rivers State.
While receiving the report, the AGF, said the Federal Government would appraise it holistically with a view to ensuring that justice is done to all the parties involved.
Malami said: “Our responsibility as a government is to establish and entrench a constitutional program to take care of collective interest that will incorporate the interest of the victim of crime, the interest of the nation and the interest of the individual involved.
“This government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has indeed demonstrated effective consciousness of these factors with particular reference to perhaps the Police.
“The government has taken steps, inclusive of having in place, the Police Act 2020, which is indeed a piece of legislation established with a view to ensuring that necessary reforms with a wider approach are brought into the operations of the Police.
“Approach that has to do with the welfare of Police officers and welfare of the society as it relates to having in place community policing and indeed having necessary checks and discipline that will ensure that the Police as an institution and not necessarily a unit of it, is brought inline with the best practices for the purpose of the discharge of their responsibilities”.
He said it was in furtherance of the move to enhance operations and welfare of the Police that the Police Trust Fund was established.
Malami stressed that over and above the legislative framework, FG, in a bid to ensure necessary reforms in various police formations, okayed probe of reported infractions by the Police.
He said the report which contained “critical appraisal” of some of the alleged infractions by SARS, was a testament that “the government is indeed conscious and ready to do the needful as far as ensuring that justice and fairness, within the context of the constitution, are brought to bear in the what we do as a government”.
Malami said: “Again, when further unfortunate incidences were reported about conduct of SARS, I am very much aware that you are aware that government acted with dispatch by setting up an independent investigative panel on human rights violations under the Chairmanship of Justice Suleiman Galadima, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, with members from the NBA, Police Service Commission, NHRC, NPF, CSOs and others”.
He said President Buhari is not only moving to effect desired reforms in the Police, “but have also taken steps to swiftly provide the necessary policy support to ensure that justice which operates in multiple-way-traffic, is addressed”.
Comments are closed.