The inspector general of police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has called on policemen in the country to uphold the rights of suspects in detention.
IGP Solomon Arase
Arase’s directive was announced by the deputy inspector general of police in charge of investigation, Dan’azumi Doma, during a routine visit to police formations in Lagos on Friday.
The police boss revealed that as part of efforts to stop the abuse and extra-judicial killing of suspects in police custody, the IGP ordered the splitting of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) into two, across all the state commands.
According to the DIG, all SARS units will henceforth have an separate operation and investigation section.
He said: “The IG has just revisited the operational method of SARS across the country either at the federal or state level. He is doing a lot to ensure that human rights abuses are corrected. If you are in touch with the Lagos state police command, based on reactions by members of the public, the officer in charge of SARS, had been redeployed to Abuja.
“The I-G said the same officers cannot make arrest and investigate the same case, so, he split SARS into two units. One is to be in charge of operational activities, while the other section will investigate the case. The people who go out to make arrest will not be the same people to carry out the investigation,’’ he said.
“By doing so, you are isolating the operational men from human rights abuses and other allegations. This thing is going to flow down from federal to states, including divisions if such units exist at that level. The reform is not applicable to SARS Lagos alone; rather, it is total and would help to transform the investigation processes in the country.”
This move by the police will come as a relief to human rights activists who had written numerous petitions to the police authority over alleged SARS unlawful activities.
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