For the Nigeria Police Force, the more changes are promised, the more things remain the same. After a series of exposure on the social media on the brutal tactics of its officers, the police high command in 2017, vowed to reform the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Fresh incidents in Rivers, Lagos and Niger states, however, underline graphically the never-ending harassment, intimidation and oppression of Nigerians by SARS operatives. Only on Tuesday, SARS officers allegedly extorted N10,000 from a London-based Nigerian, Yewande Abiodun, in Lagos, after accusing her of being dressed indecently. All this indicates that Ibrahim Idris, the incumbent Inspector-General of Police, has failed to live up to his promise.
SARS was created to contain the burgeoning criminality in the country. Ordinarily, this is a noble intention. However, it is not as straightforward as that. Police operations in Nigeria rely on strong-arm tactics, more so, SARS operations. They brutally extort money from innocent members of the public after levelling false charges against them. They detain youths using smart phones, laptops and cars on flimsy excuses.
In another recent incident in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, an IT consultant, Vaughn Itemuagbor, was arrested on flimsy charges. At the SARS office, he was tortured into writing a statement to implicate himself when an officer put a gun near his ears and fired three rounds. Left with no choice, he was forced to transfer N150,000 to one of his tormentors’ account. He posted the encounter on Facebook upon his release, after which the Rivers State Police Command refunded the N150,000 he paid to the crooked officers. In March, Itemuagbor had coughed up N10,000 to SARS officers when they detained him.
The other incidents are not so different. Two weeks ago, Ifeoluwa Adegoke and her three friends, on their way to a photo shoot in Ikorodu, Lagos State, were stopped by SARS officers. They did not make it. After confiscating their phones and scrolling through the details, SARS officers levelled spurious charges against them and demanded N100,000 from them. Eventually, the lady transferred N5,000 to one of them. Afterwards, she posted the bank transfer details on the social media, which, fittingly, prompted an outrage.
However, Itemuagbor and Adegoke were lucky. Two others – Muhammad Auwal and Kazeem Akeem – never lived to tell their own stories. Auwal, 27, was allegedly tortured to death by SARS officers in Suleja, Niger State, on May 5. An auto mechanic apprentice, he had run an errand for his boss at a bank ATM. His alleged offence was that money was taken from his boss’ account, of which he (Auwal) denied knowledge. His boss invited SARS officers to arrest Auwal. Brutally tortured, his detention lasted just two days before he was pronounced dead. This is extrajudicial killing. The police are not a court of law that can pronounce and execute a death sentence on a guilty person.
The case of Akeem is also pathetic. In April, the 32-year-old Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State-based tricycle ticket officer was allegedly tortured to death by SARS officers. He was arrested at a gambling joint, but ended up being charged with armed robbery. Strangely, when the other accused persons were arraigned in court a few days after their arrest, Akeem was nowhere to be found. The prosecuting team told the court that he took ill and later died. In a normal society, where the police are accountable, his death would have triggered a judicial enquiry to determine those culpable.
The fresh cases of human rights abuse are a sign that Idris has yet to implement the needed changes in the SARS – or the police at large. On May 25, police detained Dapo Oguntimehin at a bus stop in Amukoko, Lagos. He was dragged into the squad car, brutally beaten and detained. According to him, he was released after a bail of N3,500 was paid. When his belongings were released to him, he said he discovered that the N35,000 he had kept in his wallet was missing. On May 30, a hair stylist, Oluwatosin Idowu, 27, got a raw deal in the hands of the police in Palmgrove, Lagos on his way to meet a client. The police accused him of dressing like a gay because he braided his hair long. This is bizarre.
To force a change, a group of Nigerian youths embarked on rallies across the country in 2017 to protest SARS’ atrocities. After revelations on the social media, they called for the disbandment of SARS, and the police pledged to reform themselves. Idris should be put under pressure to fulfil his pledge.
The Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit at Force Headquarters, Abuja, has treated these outrageous cases by refunding the money transferred from the victims’ accounts. This is tokenism. What of the physical abuse, torture and lost business opportunities of the victims? In an entrenched graft system, it will not force the police to quit their deviant ways. Apart from making officers to refund what they illegally obtained under duress or at gunpoint, they should be dismissed and charged to court for their crimes.
In reality, Nigerian police officers are poorly trained. To minimise their misconduct, accountability should start with the Divisional Police Officers. Officers on patrol should be monitored. Gadgets like body-worn cameras, audio devices and mobile CCTVs that will capture their dealings with the public need to be introduced.
Also, police operations in Nigeria are excessively weaponised. In contrast, in Japan, the police do not carry arms unless there is an emergency. It is the opposite here. For minor traffic and civil offences, the police brandish guns and shoot indiscriminately in their attempt to extort motorists at checkpoints. The IG should make the state commissioners of police account for the arms and ammunition that are issued for operations.
