Some northern governors oppose wholesale scrapping of SARS

Lagos police chief Hakeem Odumosu looks at protesters campaigning against abuses by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at the Lekki toll Plaza in Lagos, on October 12, 2020. - Nigerians protested to pressure the government to follow through on disbanding a feared police unit after authorities made the rare concession in the face of widespread anger over abuses. Around 2,000 people blocked one of the main highways in the country's biggest city Lagos, demanding officials make good on an announcement on October 11, 2020, that the federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was being scrapped. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Some governors of the northern states are opposed to the wholesale disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), submitting that the unit under the auspices of the Nigeria Police has been doing a yoman’s job in the fight against insecurity in the region.

Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong, spoke in Abuja while fielding questions from State House correspondents after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday.

Lalong argued that though the president has already approved the scrapping of SARS, the northern states do not believe that the baby should be thrown away with the bath water.

He said squad was not made up of bad elements alone as it also included personnel who were doing their work diligently.

The governor said what was needed was the reformation of the unit to enable it carry out its functions optimally.

However, Lalong conceded that there are divisions in the country on the continued existence of the unit.

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