By Editor
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has described the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) as an opportunity to envision the police and policing system that will fulfil the interest of Nigerians.
In a statement issued by his Media Office and signed by Mr Paul lbe, in Abuja on Sunday, Abubakar said that the envisaged comprehensive overhaul of the police should take into consideration the needs of regional, state and council components.
He, however, observed that redeploying the bad eggs from the disbanded SARS to other units of the Police may not augur well as they are capable of polluting those units.
Abubakar said that the affected officers need to be properly screened and retrained to ensure that they do not come into their new assignments with the same mindset for which the disbanded unit was notorious for.
He proposed an independent judicial inquiry into the activities of SARS that would ensure “justice for victims of extrajudicial killings and punishment for officers involved in such dastardly acts.”
Abubakar paid tribute to the Nigerian youths for their resilience in exerting pressure on the police authorities to disband the FSARS in response to public agitations to end abuses by the anti-robbery squad.
“This was the right thing to do. A system that brutally eliminates our youths is not one to hold on to, and neither can we be proud of it.
“Now we can start on a clean sheet to envision an elite police unit similar to the SWAT team in America and a comprehensive overhaul of the police and policing system that is peoples-focused,” he said.
“The will of the people is the bulwark of the democratic system and those in authority cannot ignore the will of the people without undermining democracy itself” the statement read in part.
