The Senate on Wednesday demanded the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to arrest, investigate and prosecute erring security operatives found to have carried out extra judicial killings.
The request followed a motion brought by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, APC Lagos, under Order 42 of the senate rules.
Tinubu complained about the serial killings of Nigerian youths by the operatives of the Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad.
She cited the example of one Kolade Johnson, who was killed while watching football match at a viewing centre in Lagos and one Kazeem alias Kaka, a footballer, who was pushed down from a moving vehicle to death by men of SARS.
“Nigerian youth can no longer move freely for fear that they will be profiled and accused of being ‘yahoo boys’ or fraudsters, merely because they look good, own laptops, iPhones, nice looking cars, or profiled for having dreadlocks and certain hairstyles,” she said.
At the plenary presided over by the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, the senate mandated its Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights to investigate the allegations of human right abuses against the operatives of the FSARS.
It urged all security agencies to establish hotlines for report of activities of their men and for them to establish Special Bureau Unit to monitor the conducts of operatives, arrest and prosecute erring ones.
It also mandated the committee on Judiciary to investigate allegations of extra judicial killings and other allegations as well as recommend reparation.
The senate also mandated its Committee on Police Affairs to organise a stakeholders meeting to see to the implementation of the Police Trust Fund.
The upper chamber while commending the IGP for his swift response by banning FSARS and other tactical squads from routine patrol urged him to review their mandates to restrain them from undue interferences in Nigerians lives.
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, who supported the motion said the men of FSARS had become more of extortionists than law enforcement agents.
“You can’t tell the difference between law enforcement agents and armed robbers from the way they dress.
“These people have become more of extortionists; they go through peoples phones not because they want to enforce law but they want people to part with money.”
Senator Ishaku Abbo (PDP, Adamawa North), urged the IGP to reform the FSARS and give them identification in order for the operatives to stop appearing like armed robbers in their outfit on the streets.
Senator Mathew Urhogide (Edo South) posited that security agents that unlawfully take peoples lives should lose theirs in return.
Senator George Sekibo (PDP Rivers East) said SARS was created mainly for the conduct of elections in Rivers state and had become a monster hunting Nigerians because the operatives were not tamed.
“These SARS are agents of corruption, they stay on the road, extorting and threatening people, if you don’t give them money, they take you to their offices and lock you up.
“SARS was mainly formed to conduct election in Rivers state. When we raised the alarm in the last election, when they were arresting and killing our people, nobody talked. When a man makes a mobster and doesn’t have what to control it, it will turn against the man. SARS has turned against the nation,” he said.
Stella Oduah, Anambra North, said the activities of the operatives were discouraging Nigerian youth from pursuing a career in ICT because they were arresting, people with laptops and ICT gadgets on sight.
Besides, she said the illegal activities of the operatives stemmed from their lack of knowledge and appreciation of ICT adding that they lacked the skills to tackle cyber crimes.
Reeling out the prayers, the Senate President said the men of the FSARS involved in recent alleged extra judicial killings and abuse of human rights must be arrested, investigated and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
“Rule of Law should be our guiding principles. If you do a wrong thing, you must face the consequences.
“Any erring operative in any arm of security agencies should be prosecuted. It is enough to dismiss them. We want to know what happened to those that have killed Nigerians in the past.”
