The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has announced the dissolution of a subunit of the force, the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS).
Adamu made the announcement on Sunday, days after a public outcry and series of protests calling for a scrapping of the unit over allegations of brutality and human rights violations.
“The Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigerian Police, otherwise known as SARS, is hereby dissolved across all formations, the 36 state police command and the Federal Capital Territory where they currently exist,” the IGP said.
Also, in a statement, the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Dcp Frank Mba, noted that “the dissolution of SARS is in response to the yearnings of the Nigerian people”.
He explained that “the Force is not oblivious of the ever-present need to combat armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country which was before now the core mandate of the erstwhile Squad”.
Mba, therefore, assured that a new policing arrangement to address anticipated policing gaps which the dissolution of SARS would cause has been evolved and shall be announced in due course.
