The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday welcomed the dissolution of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police and called on
President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to overhaul and restructure the entire police architecture.
The party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, said the overhaul was necessary to engender professionalism, adherence to rule of law and respect for the fundamental rights of Nigerians.
Ologbondiyan called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, to go beyond the dissolution and reassignment of officers of the unit.
He called on Adamu to commence the profiling, arrest and prosecution of erring members of the disbanded outfit.
Ologbondiyan also called for the prosecution of other errant police operatives involved in reported series of extra-judicial killings, unlawful arrests and detention, extortion, harassment and dehumanisation of innocent people.
“Without mincing words, the PDP insists that no indicted officer should be reassigned and allowed to go unpunished after such heinous crime against the people.
“Those who killed, maimed, dehumanised and foisted a reign of terror on innocent Nigerians must be made to answer for their devilish actions.
“Anything short of this would amount to granting cover to felonious elements and tacit encouragement of further perpetuation of such crimes against Nigerians,” he said.
Ologbondiyan added that PDP and Nigerians were miffed by moves to use a certain impostor on the social media to attempt to trivialise, politicise and distract from the essence of the public protest against the excesses of the disbanded SARS.
He said that Nigerians were shocked when a party agent, in a tweet on Sunday, made false and diversionary allusions to the creation of SARS in a bid to divert attention.
Ologbondiyan clarified that SARS was created in 1992, far before the coming to power of the PDP.
“The PDP commiserates with the families of the victims of these unprofessional elements who have brought pain and anguish to our citizens.
“However, our party, in the same vein, condoles with families of some policemen who lost their lives in the heat of this unfortunate situation.
“The PDP is mindful of the fact that our police also have professional officers and men whose patriotic effort is being distracted from by the activities of the bad eggs in the force,” Ologbondiyan said.
