The Nigerian Police Force through its Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) under the leadership of Mr Abayomi Shogunle last weekend released a feedback  mechanism for Nigerians to report erring officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad(SARS) unit of the force. The police asked Nigerians to make phone calls to some certain numbers to report these officers.

However this complaint mechanism is dead on arrival, like much of the PCRRU Unit itself. Except for Lagos where vigorous citizen monitoring has kept the Nigerian Police somewhat honest, in other states of the federation people barely know this subdivision exists, let alone how to work it. The PCRRU Unit of the force has not been impactful as expected since it was created some years ago.

The level of impunity in the force is still the same, they still take bribes, bail is still not free and roadblocks still exist despite the myriads of complaints from Nigerians. Officers of SARS are the most brutal unit of the force. The unit established to fight armed robbery is now popular for illegal arrest of Nigerians especially cyber crime suspects popularly known as “yahoo boys”, illegal detentions, secret killings and torture.

Officers of SARS that we see around us don’t wear uniforms, they dress shabbily , they have no known office as they sometimes operate like mobile policemen. Also SARS officers don’t use patrol vehicles they use public buses, motorcycles, tricycles, private cars among others.

This characteristics stated above are the norm for SARS officers in the country. Putting all these into considerations, how do you report an officer wearing plain clothes without any proper identification who harasses you while riding on an okada? How do you report if the phone lines provided are never functional?

It’s evident the Nigerian Police is not ready to deal with its officers who are now product of the rot in the force as a result. If the force is really serious about its proposed reforms, maybe it should start there.

Editor