Prior to incessant SARS brutality which has short lived many lives, there is an ongoing campaign on social media with an hash tag #ENDSARS.
From investigation, #ENDSARS has trended more than 14 times in less than 365 days.
As stated, this is due to the fact that SARS has man handled, brutalised and dehumanised alot of innocent Nigerians that has led to several deaths.
It is against this background that Barrister Salifu Oguche, who has first hands information about SARS’ brutality reacts on “#ENDSARS Campaign Movement.
Let us read his interesting reaction:
” I have carefully followed the end SARS campaign in the past one week, I have seen the passion and zeal with which the proponent or champions of the campaign pursue this objective and equally observes with interest the tactics and intrigues deployed by those that seeks to preserve the status, one thing that comes true to me from the episode is the fact that both sides are seemingly acting out of their deep conviction that their position is most beneficial to the society in view of the prevailing situation with respect to ever surging challenge of insecurity and abuse of human rights in today’s Nigeria.
Before, taking a position on this all important topic of whether SARS as an arm of the Nigerian Police with a special mandate for combating very violent crimes such as armed robbery, kid_napping, banditry and such other related crimes should be reformed or all together scrapped, I think it is necessary for me to narrate some personal experiences and proceed to give some very fundamental background to the rights of citizens that are so inalienable vis a viz the practices of SARS operatives.
I had a brief from one of the members representing Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State in the State House of Assembly sometimes in February, 2020.
The Hon member called me over an occurrence in his constituency, one member of his constituency, Bala Yahaya was formerly resident in Mararaba, a neighboring town to the Federal capital territory before he relocated to Okele Ochadamu in 2018 and got involved in the political process of his community preparatory to the 2019 General Election.
After the General Election and the subsequent gubernatorial Election in the state, Mr Bala Yahaya upon the prompting of his people and as a staunch supporter of the All Progressive Congress, announced his intentions to contest for the office of the Chairman of Ofu Local Government Area. Thus, the birth of his trouble.
In about two weeks after information filtered out in political circles about his intentions, one evening in February, 2020 at about 6.00pm, Mr Bala was relaxing in his Sienna Bus in his family compound when he was aroused from his sleep, blind folded and thrown in to a waiting bus and driven straight to the Area 8 office of the SARS in Abuja.
The information about his whereabouts only filtered out through one of his lucky co_culprits who was arrested but managed to escape when the operatives stopped on the High way to ease themselves though he escaped with gun shots.
Armed with this information, the family cried to the Honorable member representing them, who in turn sought my legal services in enforcing his fundamental rights. Myself, the Honorable member and the immediate younger sister of the said Bala visited the Area 8 office of SARS, we did saw his Sienna Bus packed within the vicinity but every effort made to see the appropriate or relevant officers was frustrated as no one was willing to speak to us on the matter.
Our informal investigation revealed that Mr Bala was shot while he was struggling with the operatives to know the reason for his arrest or the destination or be allowed to reach family members and that he was been treated.
We left the SARS office that day with the hope that in the days to follow, we will make progress.
We visited again, two days after, his Sienna Bus has by then been removed from their premises and everyone was placed under strict instructions to have nothing to do with us.
Every effort to elicit any form of explanation was rebuffed, in total resignation to frustration, we left with a plan to file a fundamental rights suit.
That we did in the days that followed.
A suit was filed against the IGP and SARS and subsequently served on them.
They hurriedly denied ever arresting or detaining him and urged the court to dismiss our suit for being frivolous, baseless and lacking in merit.
The matter is in court, we have no concrete evidence against SARS arresting or killing Yahaya Bala simply because they have carefully destroyed all traces, no arrest warrant was shown, no document was signed and even his car has gone underground.
The family has since abandoned the case, they have accepted their fate and turned to God to fight their battle.
The aged mother told me in court one day to forget the matter but that her God will call the killers of her son to order.
The young wife has been rendered a widow so early and the three children have been rendered fatherless just because somebody parted with some #500,000 to deal with a political adversary.
This was my personal experience.
Thus I am tempted to join the train of the championers of End SARS campaign but I still believe that institutional and personnel re_orientation can help.
God help Nigeria. Let us deal with our orientation generally”.
