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Job Osazuwa
“The police is your friend.” That is one notice you find in police stations all over the country. But not a few Nigerians have often doubted that claim. And they are quite justified in their scepticism.
Indeed, many people would question the sincerity of this slogan and how many police officers are actually friends with the people.
In truth, there have been quite a few officers that have stood out and distinguished themselves saving lives and helping innocent Nigerians out of desperate situations. But when such happens, most people are shocked that police officers could actually be humane. This is because, in the opinion of many Nigerians, the average police officer is wired to be wicked.
On February 22, a player with Remo Stars Football Club, Sagamu, Tiamiyu Kazeem, was allegedly killed in Sagamu, Ogun State, by a police operative with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police. The incident sparked violence and five more persons, including two policemen, were killed.
Angry youths poured into the streets of Sagamu to register their grievance over the manner in which the football star’s life was abruptly cut short. Many people saw the young man’s death as one too many.
Hell was let loose as the youths chanted mourning songs while displaying the portrait of the deceased. The protest soon turned bloody after policemen deployed to quell the situation allegedly opened fire on protesters, throwing teargas canisters at the crowd. The civilians were allegedly hit by stray bullets. The mob was said to have descended on the policemen and allegedly killed two of them in retaliation. Bonfires were set along major streets, causing obstruction of movement for motorists and commuters.
The irate youths, who felt the police were attempting to exonerate their operatives of complicity, demanded the scrapping of the SARS.
However, Ogun State Police Commissioner, Kenneth Ebrimson, denied that policemen opened fire on protesters. He insisted that the cops resisted the use of force despite provocation from miscreants who took advantage of the protest. He pointed out that some miscreants tried to take the opportunity of the protest to cause trouble in the state.
Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, and the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, have joined other Nigerians in commiserating with the family of Kazeem, who was allegedly pushed out of a moving vehicle by a SARS operative that fateful Saturday, along the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway.
When the anti-robbery unit was formed some years ago, Nigerians applauded the initiative, believing that criminal elements were in for big trouble. Indeed, the officers went after criminals, arrested and gunned down many suspects who posed a threat to the safety of others.
But not long after, the squad began to deviate from its core mandate. The officers made themselves available for every case, even as minor as disputes between business partners, lovers, and all and sundry. They were also hired to recoup money from debtors. Any young man carrying a laptop bag became an automatic suspect, whether the bag contained a laptop or not. Such a fellow was assumed to be an Internet fraudster. Some dreadlocks and tattoo lovers saw hell in the hands of SARS. This was a development that unsettled many people.
As the operatives derailed, virtually everybody became a suspect. They hanged around bank premises like angry lions looking for whom to devour.
In some cities, the mere mention of SARS would see many people taking to their heels. They became monsters and tin gods of a sort, of who possessed the power over life and death.
Many innocent Nigerians have been brutalised and sent to their graves by SARS operatives who act with impunity. There have been persistent extra-judicial killings, extortion, illegal arrest and harassment of citizens. Many of the perpetrators have got away with the atrocities, while some were investigated, tried and fired after they were found guilty. Some of them are also in court answering murder charges.
Perturbed by their callousness, Nigerians have protested against the squad, seeking its disbandment. Many would recall the #EndSARS movement that became widespread across Nigeria months ago.
Condemning the murder of the footballer, sports minister, Dare, warned that the needless profiling and killing of Nigerian youths must be checked, as it was capable of depriving the country of the contributions of its vibrant youths.
“The death of the young player of Remo Stars, Kazeem, is unfortunate and unwarranted,” he said.
He demanded that the death and its cause must not be swept under the carpet. He called on the police high command to probe the incident and bring the culprit to book, adding that the police must understand and ensure the sanctity of lives. He said it was sad to see those paid to protect Nigerian citizens snuffing life out of them.
A statement by Kazeem’s family read in part: “Let’s set the records straight and reject in its entirety this falsehood circulating within our media space painting a good citizen of this country as a villain rather than a hero, even to his grave. Kazeem was a professional footballer signed to Remo Stars in Sagamu. On this fateful day, he was in a shop buying groceries when some SARS officers grabbed him and pushed him into their Sienna bus. The deceased was questioning the SARS officers on the reason for his illegal arrest.
“He was pushed down from the car and got hit instantly by a vehicle and somersaulted to the other side of the road. While on their way to the hospital at Ipara, the Sienna bus used for the illegal operation absconded, and while at the hospital, Kaka finally gave up the ghost.”
Heeding the public outcry over the excessiveness of men of this special squad, the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, on February 26, disbanded the satellite offices of SARS across the country, including that of the Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS), Obada-Oko, Ogun State.
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Criminal Investigations Department Force Headquarters, Peter Ogunyonwo, made the announcement on behalf of the IGP when he accompanied Governor Abiodun on a condolence visit to the parents of the deceased in Sagamu. He added that the ZIS offices would be handed over to the state police commands.
Having been found wanting in so many ways, SARS operations had, at different times, been streamlined by the authorities to restore sanity. But the viciousness and oppression, even when unprovoked, has continued unabated.
While some citizens survived, some others were unlucky as they did not live to tell their stories after their encounter with trigger-happy policemen. It has been loads of lamentations.
In the past, police operatives’ action had triggered some lawlessness across the country, leading to residents blocking the expressway with bonfires. The demonstrations usually led to gridlock that could last many hours.
The story of a young man, Kolade Johnson, who was shot dead by a police officer in April 2019 near a football viewing centre in Lagos State, is still fresh in the memory of many. The killing sparked a huge protest, especially on the social media.
The owner of a barber’s salon in Lagos, Eric Eniola, narrated to the reporter in 2019 how some SARS officials held him for hours because of an unusual hairstyle he was wearing. He said that the matter got worse when the three officers saw that he was using an iPhone.
“The policemen saw me coming out from Alaba International Market and took me to a corner and began to question me. I told them my profession but they didn’t believe me. One of them said that I looked like a certain criminal that escaped from their custody in Ishaga area of Lagos. They went through all my text messages, social media accounts and emails but didn’t see anything to implicate me.
“Then one of them asked how much I was making in a month that I could afford an iPhone. I was patient with them and I didn’t argue all through. When they threatened to take me to the police station, I responded by saying that there was no problem but that they should allow me to put a call across to my family lawyer. At that point, one of them pushed me on the head to start going. This was after about one hour had already been wasted,” he said.
In January 2019, an unarmed man was allegedly shot dead by SARS operatives in broad daylight in Benin City, the capital of Edo State.
According to eyewitnesses, the man was fleeing the scene after he was apprehended when the police shot at him, and he died instantly. People in the community spontaneously scampered for safety.
Similarly, in August 2019, a video surfaced on the social media, revealing how policemen shot dead two suspected phone thieves. The incident reportedly happened in Igando, Lagos.
The video showed two suspects handcuffed to each other as an officer approached with a third suspect. The man recording the video was heard identifying the suspects as he gloated over their arrest.
“You go collect, you go collect,” he said, as he recorded the video. Then there was a sudden gunshot. The third suspect was shown in a yellow minibus. He was handcuffed as he reeled in pain.
To sanitise the security agency and halt incessant killings, some concerned Nigerians have called for the immediate mental assessment of all police personnel in the country.
A lawyer based in Lagos, Ernest Azubuike, said that most of the security agents in Nigeria have conducted themselves contrary to the fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution: “It is sad when those who are supposed to protect our rights are the ones violating them. When the police that you ought to run to in times of crisis are the ones pursuing you, then it is a state of hopelessness. Yet, we can’t do without the police due to their critical roles in every society. The impunity has continued because the number of convictions is still very low.
“Some policemen have also acted so professionally that you would wonder if they belong to a different planet. But these operatives are usually found among the high-ranking officers,” he said.
