SARS Disbandment: Brace Up for An Upsurge In Violent Crimes – Security Expert Tells Nigerians

Security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu has advised Nigerians to brace up for an upsurge in violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping and armed banditry as a result of the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) by the Federal Government.

He said: “Violent criminals are aware that SARS has been scrapped. Since there was no orderly transition from one crime combating agency to another, the terrorists and criminals will exploit the confusion during the interregnum to unleash mayhem on Nigerians.”

Ekhomu said that given the probability of spike in violent crimes, the police agency must create a new elite unit dedicated to crime-combating within seven days in order to deny robbers and kidnappers the opportunity to slaughter innocent citizens.

Ekhomu, who is the National President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), said: “It behooves the police agency to quickly respond to the challenge of controlling violent crimes in the country”.

According to him, Nigeria is already the third most terrorized country in the world. It would be totally unacceptable for violent crimes to rise higher than current high levels. “SARS or no SARS, the police must competently perform its constitutional duty”, he added.

Ekhomu said that the excesses and abuses of SARS were well documented. “Any successor elite anti-violent crime squad must be given the imperatives of accountability, responsibility and integrity. The unit must be properly supervised to avoid a repeat the history of SARS of gross abuse of the rights of Nigerians.”