SARS becoming a problem, even for police – Falana

Lawyer and human rights activist, Femi
Falana, said operatives of the Special Anti-
Robbery Squad, SARS, a police unit, are
becoming a problem even for the Nigeria
Police Force.
Speaking during a Channels TV
programme, Falana said the operatives
were “overstepping their boundaries.”
He, however, noted that necessary
regulations to checkmate their activities
had been put in place.
“Any demonstration by Nigerians
against any perceived injustice should
be encouraged, but as far as I am
concerned, with due respect to those
protesting against SARS and calling for
its proscription, while their efforts are
commendable, they must be made to
appreciate the fact that the law has taken

care of all their concerns.
“What we are therefore required to do is to
ensure that the laws are enforced. Operatives
of SARS are becoming a problem, even for
the police force.”
Falana said in 2014, he conducted a study
about crime in Nigeria and found “to my
utter dismay that 532 people were paraded
by the police; armed robbery and kidnap
suspects in all the states and the FCT.
“At the end of the day, I asked the police, can
we know the courts where these individuals
are being tried. But I didn’t get a reply.
“And my finding was to the effect that most
of them were extra-judicially killed in this
country. I do not know when last I witnessed
the trial of an armed robbery suspect in any
of our courts till today. No trial takes place;
they are simply wasted.’’