Group Condemns #EndSARS Campaign In Calabar

By CrossRiverWatch Admin

Members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) in Cross River, Wednesday held a peaceful rally in support of the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police Force.

Bearing placards with inscriptions such as: “we stand with SARS,” “stop meddling into police affairs,” “Cross River stand with SARS,” “safety of life assured with SARS” amongst others, members marched through a few streets in Calabar, the state capital where the state chairman of PCRC, Mr Michael Edem, said that SARS has reduced cases of kidnapping and armed robbery in the state and maintained that it was wrong for some groups or organizations to clamor for the scrapping of SARS, adding that it was a misplacement of priority on the side of those groups.

“What we are doing here today is to sensitize the public against the call to scrap SARS. SARS has always responded timely to emergency calls. We are appealing to the government not to scrap SARS because their role in curbing cases of kidnapping and armed robbery nationwide is commendable.

“No security agency in Nigeria today is 100 per cent perfect, and at such we must bear with them on their shortcomings,” he said and called for adequate funding of the police, saying that it would go a long way in helping the force to carry out its constitutional duties creditably.

Another member of the committee, Mr. Charles Edet, a trader, said it was inappropriate to end SARS, rather, he urged the police authority to train and re-train members of the squad to always obey human rights in their activities.

“What I will rather prefer is a complete restructuring of the squad because even armed robbers and kidnappers are always afraid of SARS,” he said.

Other members of the public in Calabar, who joined the rally in support of the activities of SARS, urged the government to always organize training workshops for members of the squad.

Following widespread complaints, Nigerians recently launched a movement against the Special Anti Robbery Squad SARS of the Police accusing them of human rights abuses, extra-judicial killings among others with the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris reacting by restructuring the command system of the squad.