By Chinedu Obike
The dissolution of the dreaded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) by the Nigerian Police Force may have calmed some nerves and opened another front of agitation and protests.
Recall that a few hours ago, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced the scrapping of SARS “with immediate effect” in response “to the yearnings of Nigerian people”
Coming on the heels of the ENDSARS protest nationwide, some Nigerians who spoke to economyonline on the issue commended the leadership of the Police for listening and responding to the cries of Nigerians, while many others have condemned the authorities for re-absorbing the officers into the mainstream of the force.
They were obviously reacting to the announcement that all SARS officers would be redeployed to other police commands, formations and units.
Rather than redeploy the officers, some say the guilty ones among them should be identified and prosecuted for the killing of Isiaka Jimoh and other victims of SARS brutality in the past years.
Amnesty International had, last June, listed alleged 82 cases of torture, harassment and extra judicial execution by SARS.
The IGP says the Nigerian Police would now work with human rights groups and civil society organizations to investigate cases of violations, but unless the youths are given the assurance of commensurate punishment for the guilty ones, the country may witness another wave of protest marches in the days ahead.