President Muhammadu Buhari who had had reservations about the issue of state police has finally subscribed to the establishment of the outfit at the state and local government levels.
It would be recalled that Buhari had, in an interview with the VOA in May 2018, stated that he was not convinced about the state police.
“I want the Nigerian Constitution to be consulted first and see what it says. If it says they should be allowed, then they should be allowed….
“How many states are able to pay their workers in time? And you add the police to them? People should look at this matter very well.
“No, I am not convinced.
“We should have solved the current insecurity in the north-east and south-south by now. Can the states be able to shoulder the burden of the police?
“You cannot just give someone guns and ammunition, train him and refuse to pay him, you know what will eventually happen,” he said.
But the president, while receiving the report of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday also approved the dismissal of 37 police officers as recommended by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Presidential Special Panel on SARS Reforms.
In a statement by the executive secretary, NHRC and chairman of the panel, Mr. Anthony Ojukwu, the president directed that the implementation of the right recommendations be carried out within three months.
“I want to thank the panel once more, and hereby direct that since the recommendations of the commission that constituted the panel are enforceable as decisions of the court, that the inspector general of police and the solicitor general of the federation/permanent secretary, federal ministry of justice meet the commission to work out the modalities for the implementation of the report within three months from today,” Ojukwu quoted the president as saying.
Ojukwu said the panel received 113 complaints on alleged human rights violations from across the country and 22 memoranda on suggestions on how to reform and restructure SARS and the Nigeria Police in general.
“At the end of its public hearing and having listened to complaints as well as defendants and their counsel, the panel recommended 37 police officers for dismissal from the force. Twenty four were recommended for prosecution.
“The panel also directed the inspector general of police to unravel the identity of 22 officers involved in the violation of the human rights of innocent citizens.
“The police was directed to pay compensation of various sums in 45 complaints and tender public apologies in five complaints and directed to obey court orders in five matters.
“The police was directed to immediately arrest and prosecute two retired senior police officers who were found to have violated the rights of citizens (one for extra-judicial killing and the other for illegal takeover of property of a suspect). The panel also recovered two vehicles illegally auctioned by SARS officers and returned them to their owners,” he said.
He listed the panel’s recommendations to include: “Significant improvement in the funding, kitting and facilities of the Nigeria Police Force; strengthening information and communication technology of the force; establishment of state and local government police; and institutionalising a special investigation panel to annually hear and determine complaints on alleged human rights violations against operations of the Nigeria Police Force.
Others are “strengthening the Police Rapid Response Complaints Unit of the Nigeria Police and other internal complaints mechanisms of the force to make them more responsive; renaming the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to Anti-Robbery Section (ARS) which was its original name and to make the section operate under the intelligence arm of the police from the divisional, area command, state command, zonal command up to the force headquarters level. This will also remove the stigma presently associated with the name SARS, and ensuring the ARS limits itself to tackling armed robbery while other intelligence and operational units are strengthened to perform their various special tasks.
Some other key recommendations of the panel include significant improvement in the funding, kitting and facilities of the Nigeria Police Force; strengthening of information and communication technology of the force; establishment of state and local government police.”
