…Seeks prosecution of human rights violators
By Emma Ogbuehi
Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has described the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and its successor Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) as being the same.
Tambuwal made the comparison Wednesday when he swore in the Chairman and members of the Sokoto State Independent National Electoral Commission (SOSIEC) in Government House, Sokoto.
According him, although the effort of the government in axing the infamous SARS is commendable, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muhammad Adamu, nonetheless should not have been in a haste to foist another notorious body on Nigerians.
Instead, the governor suggested that the IGP should have consulted widely with Nigerians on what kind of police reform is most suitable for the citizens and the country.
He said merely changing the name of SARs to SWAT is not the solution to the numerous problems that the country has been facing, but advised the President to recruit more people into Nigeria’s security outfits.
He also suggested that the federal government should provide more modern equipment, especially Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets and improved remuneration package to the police
He said some of the activities of SARS prior to its proscription were obviously against the fundamental human right of Nigerians, thereby prescribing that the perpetrators of those wrongdoings, who also gave the police institution a bad name, should be brought to book.
He urged President Buhari and the IGP to intensify efforts on the re-training of those that served in disbanded unit and redeploy them to address the challenges of insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in the regions of North-West, North-Central and the country in general.
