TheCable

Amnesty International (AI) has asked the police authorities to prosecute operatives of the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) involved in human rights abuse.

The international rights watchdog group said operatives of the squad and other police personnel accused of such abuses must be prosecuted in line with efforts to reform the police.

On Sunday, Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police ( IGP), dissolved SARS following nationwide protests against brutality and harassment of citizens.

The police IG said the operatives in the special squad will be redeployed to other police formations, but was silent on the allegations of human rights abuse against them.

Responding via a statement, Osai Ojigho, AI director in Nigeria, said disbanding SARS alone “falls short of demands for accountability and justice for abuses committed by the unit.”

She asked the police to address the underlying issues that allowed “impunity to thrive” in the squad through: “Immediate and unhindered access to SARS and other police detention centers by oversight bodies such as Police Service Commission, National Human Rights Commission, as well as lawyers and human rights defenders…

“Immediate investigation and prosecution of all police officers who have been accused of grave human rights violations such as extra judicial executions, torture, and other ill-treatment …

“A clear and concise timeline for the implementation of the reforms to end police atrocities is key to safeguarding trust between Nigerians and the authorities.”

In June, AI reported that it uncovered 82 cases of torture and extrajudicial killings involving SARS operatives.