#EndSARS: Nigerian Government Dissolves Notorious Police Unit After Mass Protests

Nigeria’s Police Chief, Mohammed Adamu on Sunday, Oct. 11, announced the disbandment of the notorious police unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

This is coming after the country’s youths embarked on mass protests across the nation since last week, demanding that the unit be scrapped, following its incessant brutality and extra-judicial killings of young citizens which has gone on for years.

Adamu said the SARS operatives will be redeployed to other police formations and commands.

“The Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force otherwise known as SARS is hereby dissolved in all the 36 State Police Commands and the Federal Capital Territory,” Adamu said at a briefing in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

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For years, the unit has derailed from its primary assignment of combatting armed robbery attacks in the country and instead, became a terror to young and mostly innocent citizens – harassing, extorting and indiscriminately murdering them. The rogue officers profiled any young person who dressed fancifully and owned a decent phone and a car as an internet fraudster.

Although some Nigerians believe that dissolving SARS may not change much, as the operatives are being redeployed to other formations within the force, which means they could still continue to engage in illegal activities. Many argue that the disbandment is a good start while the new agitation should be about a holistic reform of the entire police system in the country.