The Nigeria Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, has described some Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) protesters as “pseudo-activists.”
This is just as the Deputy Commissioner of Police noted that some parts of Nigeria (some northern states) have supported the continuous operations of the anti-robbery squad in their states.
Speaking at the Sunrise Daily interview on Channels, Frank Mba said there are different categories of protesters: He described the first group as genuine protesters that want an end to the extrajudicial killings of some bad eggs in the police force.
He described the other group as clout chases, pseudo-activists that are portraying theirselves as influencers. “Some of the people against SARS are the ones that are involved in shady deals; they engage in arm selling, and other crimes…”
Frank Mba, emphasising on the commitment of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, to sanistise the police system highlighted 10 points on the position of the IGP:
- The IGP has banned FSARS, STS and IRT from routine patrols on the streets.
- The IGP has also banned FSARS, STS and IRT from conventional low-risk duties – stop and search, check point, mounting of road blocks, traffic checks, etc – with immediate effect.
- The IGP has warned that no police officer, including personnel of FSARS, STS and IRT, is authorized to embark on patrol or tactical assignment in mufti.
- The IGP has directed that the FSARS, STS and IRT personnel must appear in their police uniforms or approved tactical gear while on official assignment.
- The IGP has banned the indiscriminate and unauthorized search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart devices.
- The IGP has directed that personnel of FSARS and other tactical squads concentrate and respond only to cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes when the need arises.
- The IGP has ordered the X-Squad and the Monitoring Unit to monitor and arrest erring personnel of FSARS and other Policemen on the road.
- The IGP warned that henceforth, the CP in charge of FSARS, CPs in charge of State Commands and FCT as well as their supervisory Zonal AIGs will be held liable for misconduct of personnel of FSARS and others within their jurisdiction.
- The IGP has charged the affected AIGS and CPs to ensure an effective supervision of personnel of FSARS and others within their jurisdiction.
- The IGP has appealed to citizens not to allow the misconduct by a few personnel of the Force to negatively impact on their confidence and trust in the Police.