Details: SARS Officers No Longer Have Power To Detain Suspects In Their Cells In Lagos State

Labule Thomas

Officers of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) no longer have the power to detain suspects in their cells in Lagos State.

This measure is part of the new rules introduced by the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu to check the excesses of the squad.

According to C.P Odumosu while featuring on Channels Television‘s program, Sunrise Daily earlier today, Tuesday, October 6, 2020

“…they must not even go to investigate any case without booking their arrival at the Area Commander’s office so that the Area Commander will know that they are in that area doing what they ought to do. And once they finish, they must go back and file entry.

“Secondly, I gave a directive that they must not detain anybody in their cells any longer. They can only detain at my office or at the Area Commander’s office. And the Area Commander must interview any suspect they want to detain and ascertain that the suspect had done what warranted being detained.

“All these are additional measures put in to make sure that the supervision is effective. So, there is more supervision now and it going to be more effective now.”

This development comes on the heels of public outcry against the excesses of SARS officers in the country – including cited cases of extortion and extrajudicial killings.

The outcry resulted in widespread condemnations from Nigerians in the mold of Vice President Yemi Osibanjo and Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The Inspector-General of Police Adamu Muhammed reacted by banning SARS officers from routine stop and search, checkpoints, and other low-risk duties.

Inspector-General of Police Adamu further directed that the Commissioners of Police would be held responsible for any infractions within their area of command.

The directive resulted in the measures introduced by Commissioner of Police Odumosu took away the powers of the SARS officers to detain suspects in their cells in Lagos state – including cross-checking their investigations.