To call for the reform of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, protesters took to the street of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to demand reorganisation of the security outfit.
Led by a former students’ union president of the University of Ibadan, Comrade Babatunde Badmus, the protesters narrated how many Nigerians, especially students and younger people have been harassed by men of SARS.
Radical Ibadan lawyers, Barr. Ola Fatai Adeosun, who also addressed protesters, said the reorganisation is long overdue, adding that the agency should not be put under the control of the Inspector General of Police.
He said SARS men should be made to wear numbered clothes if they are to go out for operations, explaining that they are not meant to be on the road but be trailing criminals.
“It has become a crime to keep beards, ride exotic cars, use expensive things in Nigeria. They will trail you, implicate you and make you cough out money. Failure to do may lead to all forms of dehumanisation. Enough is enough, something urgent and drastic should be done,” he added.
The protesters, who addressed people at UI junction, Sango, Bodija and other areas, dropped a protest letter to Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
Special Adviser to Ajimobi on Security and Special Duties, Mr. Olusegun Abolarinwa, who spoke on behalf of the government, said he had inkling of what the activities of SARS men are, noting that he has had to come to the aid of many people who had been illegally arrested.
He assured that the state will liaise with relevant agencies to ensure that men of SARS are reorganised.
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