The police chief stated this when he spoke at a meeting with commissioners of police in Abuja today November 27. He said the force is ready to face anyone who organises or participates in such protests across the country.

He said “Remember, even our constitution does not accept violent protests, so, those people that are planning to come up with another protest, if they’ve planned it to be a violent one, they should re-think, otherwise, we have prepared to face them. We will never allow this type of #EndSARS protests again. It was violent. Peaceful protest is allowed in our constitutions. When this process started peacefully, we provided security for them. We were moving with them to make sure they were not molested by any group of people and it was going on well until it turned violent. When it turned violent, they then attacked the people that were even giving them protection. So, we shall never allow any violent protest in this country again. When you talk of peaceful protests, yes, it is allowed but violent protests, never! We’re to protect this country from hoodlums. We’re to protect this country from violence, and we want every Nigerian to work with us, to prevent what had happened as the aftermath of the end of SARS in terms of destruction of public properties, loss of lives, businesses of individuals were crippled, corporate institutions were destroyed. Well-meaning Nigerians should join hands with us so as to prevent recurrence of such. We have made a lot of arrests of those people that escaped from prisons. Some were even arrested in Kano and Kaduna. When they escaped, some of them went back to their business of robbery.”

The police chief made the announcement in spite of the protest against the replacement of defunct and controversial police unit, SARS with the newly created unit (SWAT).

In a statement released on Sunday, October 18 by Nigerian Police Force spokesperson Frank Mba, the IGP was quoted saying that the security operatives will operate within “high professional and ethical standards, rule of law and dictates of best international policing practices”.

The statement read “The IGP reiterates that no personnel of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) will be a member of the new Tactical Team. He notes that the officers selected for the training are young, smart and energetic officers who have acquired not less than seven (7) years working experience with clean service records – no pending disciplinary matters, no record of violation of rights of citizens or misuse of firearms – and are physically fit to withstand the rigour of SWAT Training and Operations. The selected officers shall be subjected to the physical fitness test, medical and toxicology screening etc and those found to be unsuitable shall be discharged. The ICRC, independent international human rights and humanitarian support organization with over 71years of experience in humanitarian services and institutional support and development, will provide resource persons and materials to handle the human rights components of the training program. Specifically, they will handle topics touching on humanitarian laws, police conduct in conflict situation, human rights standard especially in the use of force and firearms, arrest and detention amongst others. Other areas of the training program will include modern-day police ethics and values, Intelligence-led policing, Operation planning/Tactical decision-making processes, Hostage rescue tactics and operation, weapon handling, first aid/basic life-saving skills, stress/fear management, police-citizens relations and emotional intelligence etc. The training modules will be handled by other carefully selected development partners, security experts as well as veterans from the civil society and human rights community.”

In the petition which was shared on Change.Org, the IGP was accused of “unleashing war” against defenceless and innocent Nigerian youths whose only crimes were demanding an end to extortions, harassments, illegal arrests, detentions, and wanton killings by the rogue police unit, SARS.

It was also alleged that over 10 protesters have been shot dead since the protest took off in Nigeria.

It reads “The Nigerian Police under the leadership of the IG of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has unleashed war against defenceless and innocent Nigerian youths whose only crimes were demanding an end to extortions, harassments, illegal arrests, detentions, and wanton killings by the rogue police unit, SARS. In the last three days following popular peaceful protests across Nigeria, no less than 10 peaceful protestors have been reportedly shot dead, including Jimoh Isiaq, and countless others arrested and detained by the members of the criminal unit in the police while the extortions still continue unabated.  It is within this premise that this petition seeks the support of everyone to compel the International Criminal Court at The Hague to order the arrest and prosecution of the IG of Police, Mohammed Adamu, for crimes against humanity, as the Head of the Nigerian Police that has carried out these heinous crimes against Youths in Nigeria”

This morning, a number of protesters formed a human chain at the Lekki toll gate, demanding that the government ends SARS completely.

“End SARS now, not deployment,” the protesters chanted as they blocked the toll gate, preventing commuters from going through.

Nigerians on Twitter have stated that this isn’t the first time promise has been made to disband SARS, the only difference this time being the language used, yet nothing gets done. Some pointed out that having the same rogue officers deployed to other units in the force will mean that the assault on the youths will continue, albeit in a different form.

A form making the rounds asking Nigerians to tick their demands has seen people simply asking the authorities to end SARS completely and not redeploy the officers.

In the memo dated October 5, 2020 and titled, ‘Order and directives: Restrictions on the operations of F-SARS, SARS, IRT, STS, state anti-kidnapping units and other special units under any nomenclature that operates in mufti across all formation, zones and state commands’, AIGs and CPs were further directed to charge errant policemen after being indicted in an orderly room trial.

It read “Any police personnel that, henceforth, abuses his or her powers in a manner that degrades, endangers or threatens the lives and other fundamental rights of the citizens shall be promptly arrested, processed through our internal disciplinary machinery, and if found culpable, shall be dismissed from service. In addition, such a person could be charged in consonance with their level of criminal liability in the instance. Any personnel of the special units found violating the order must be arrested and escorted to the Force headquarters for appropriate actions. A weekly update on this operation must be forwarded to the office of the Inspector-General of Police for review and appropriate directives.  The unprofessional activities of some special operatives had continued to drag the Force into acts that pit us against the citizens that we were engaged, paid and statutorily obligated to serve and protect.”

A video of the police officers harassing the lady went viral and caught the attention of the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, who ordered an immediate investigation.

In a statement released on Thursday night July 23, spokesperson the Nigeria Police Force, Frank Mba, said the erring police officers are currently being detained at the Lagos state CID detention in Panti.

Read the statement below “Following investigations into the dehumanizing treatment of a female citizen as shown in a viral video on Wednesday, 22nd July 2020, the Nigeria Police Force have identified three (3) police officers and one (1) civilian accomplice who participated in the unprofessional act. Two (2) suspects, ASP Tijani Olatunji and Inspr Gboyega Oyeniyi have been arrested for their role in the discreditable conduct and incivility to a member of the public. They are currently being detained at the Lagos State CID detention facility, Panti, Yaba. Preliminary investigations show that the policemen who are attached Area ‘A’ Command, Lion Building, Lagos, were on legitimate investigation activities to Ibadan, Oyo State where the incident took place. The effort is being intensified to arrest the two other accomplices. Meanwhile, appropriate disciplinary procedure will be initiated as soon as investigations are concluded”

The officers had gone to the home of a suspected kidnapper and armed robber to arrest him and there they met the 25-year-old lady who gave her name as Towobola

The policemen, after taking the kidnap suspect away, faced Towobola, handcuffed her and accused her of sleeping with the alleged kidnapper.

Reacting to the video, the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, condemned the actions of the police officers and said they would be brought to justice.

The statement from the police reads “The Inspector General of Police has ordered discreet investigations into the circumstances surrounding the dehumanizing treatment meted out to a female citizen in the above viral video. The IGP, while condemning the act, has directed the commencement of comprehensive investigations aimed at unravelling the true identity of the perpetrators with a view to bringing them to justice. Members of the public are hereby assured that any member of the Force found culpable in the incident will be made to face appropriate sanctions”