SARS: PROTECTORS OR TERRORISTS --- contributed by @francistagbo
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Hey guys so today I want to talk about a burning issue in Nigeria, the Special Anti Robbery Squad or SARS as they are commonly referred to. I have all my posts saved on my phone but for safety reasons, I’ll delete this one from my phone as soon as I post it. Wouldn’t want them to search my phone one day and see that I’ve been writing about them.
Ok so they’re supposedly an elite unit of police men who were formed to quell the rampant increase of armed robberies that were happening in Nigeria. Well let me give you a little history lesson.
HISTORY OF SARS
SARS was founded by Col. Simeon Danladi Midenda in 1992. After successfully leading a team that dismantled all armed robbery operations in Benin, he was transferred to Lagos were he was given the task of doing the same thing he did in Benin. At the time, Lagos was in a state of disarray. A military officer was killed by a police man and as such the military flooded the streets of Lagos in search of any and all policeman to get some form of revenge on. It took two weeks before the case was settled and by then armed robbers had tightened their grip around Lagos so much so that the police couldn’t handle them. Col. Midenda came in and founded SARS, although another anti robbery unit was in existence then, but he simply added “special” to their name, thus birthing the term SARS.
They operated in the shadows, no uniforms, guns or walkie-talkies where used in the open, they’d mingle in the crowds and get info as well as get the jump on armed robbers who were trying to flee the police. This was particularly effective because the armed robbers couldn’t tell them apart from civilians. Col. Midenda was in charge of SARS in Lagos for 8 years before he was transferred out of Lagos.
SARS TODAY
According to popular beliefs, the SARS operatives of today are all ex-convicts, primarily comprised of former thieves and cut throats who were on death row but were given a second chance to help fight crime instead of committing them.
Now if this is true, I don’t know, but if it is, then the saying that a Leopard cannot change its spots must certainly be true because these days it’s the SARS operatives themselves that are perpetuating these crimes. Granted they have actually quelled the occurrence of armed robbery in the country but now they use that fact as an opportunity to extort money from people all around Nigeria.
Their most popular mode of operation is to plant drugs on people who they feel are well to do then extort money for them in exchange for their freedom. They have stopped going after armed robbers and have seen it fit to make themselves the “Anti yahoo boys robbery unit” as well. These days that’s all they do; go round arresting people who have laptops, whether on the road or in their houses then claim that they’re yahoo boys.
Early this year a nationwide uproar against SARS occurred, with protests all over the country. Unfortunately it was to no avail as SARS is still functional till this very day.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH SARS
This post would not be complete or perhaps even exist if not for this. Just a few days ago, I left my brother’s place to go and work out in an outdoor gym somewhere near his house. I got there and started my usual routine. The gym was located at the top of a bungalow which was meant to be a duplex but construction was halted. I had barely been there for 30mins when someone signaled those of us that were working out that SARS operatives had entered the compound. Apparently they had received Intel that some yahoo boys lived in the compound so they went room by room and harassed and searched people till they found people with laptops. Anyone with a laptop was beaten and dubbed a yahoo boy. People who weren’t around or didn’t open their doors had them broken down after which they were beaten blue black.
Those of us upstairs held our breaths and prayed to God that they wouldn’t come up but unfortunately we weren’t so lucky. One operative climbed up, saw us and ordered us to come down. We were branded as thieves and one of the SARS operatives even started lying that we were all up there smoking weed and sniffing cocaine. I had to ask myself if I’ve ever even seen cocaine before much less sniffed it.
They seized my phone and handcuffed me to one of the supposed yahoo boys, making sure that the cuffs were extremely tight where else it was loose on everyone else. They didn’t have enough cuffs to go round so they used the shirts of the other guys I was working out with to tie their hands. We were then bundled to their headquarters which was quite far from where we were picked up. Upon reaching there, we were made to sit down on the ground while the operatives blatantly lied to their superintendent that they caught us sniffing cocaine and smoking weed.
The man took one look at me and either felt I was responsible or stupid so he called me aside and started off by asking me questions about what I do. At first I wanted to mention steemit, but then I figured that he would just twist my words and say I was a yahoo boy so I just told him that I was job hunting. He then proceeded to still accuse me of being a yahoo boy, stating that my phone had been searched and that they’d found evidence of my crimes. I simply looked at him and asked him how he’d gotten into my phone seeing as it was password/fingerprint protected.
Devoid of anything else to use and hold me, he then ordered me to open my phone so they could search it. I opened it and the searched and found nothing. Eventually they let those of us that were working out go and somehow we found our way home.
CONCLUSION
The SARS of yesteryear is no more, even Col. Midenda has expressed his disgust in what SARS has become now, stating that they’ve lost their way and must be dismantled and reformed. If steps are not taken to stop them then their reign of terror will never end.
That’s it for today folks, if you liked it then
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Blog editor: @klynic, for the community!
I dont even know what to call all our securities operatives in naija. They are acusers not protectors anymore. Gone are the days we have responsible security men that protect us
You're so right @simplicitytech, I fear the police more than I fear actual armed robbers.