A Nigerian rights group urged authorities on Oct. 20 to account for former anti-robbery officers, arguing that unresolved abuse complaints show police reform remains incomplete six years after the #EndSARS protests.
Nigeria's Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) wants an audit identifying former Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) officers who were assessed or retrained and those disciplined or prosecuted. It also wants authorities to disclose where officers were reassigned, subject to privacy and due process protections.
The Nigeria Police Force dissolved SARS on Oct. 11, 2020. Two days later, a government communiqué called for psychological evaluation and retraining before former officers were redeployed, as well as an independent inquiry into abuses. “Redeployment is not accountability,” RULAAC Executive Director Okechukwu Nwanguma wrote in the group’s anniversary statement.
On Aug. 26, 2021, the government said 28 states had established panels to examine complaints of police brutality and eight had submitted final reports to the National Economic Council. RULAAC said some victims received compensation but argued that authorities had fallen short on recommendations concerning prosecutions, discipline and wider reform. Nwanguma said taxpayers bear the cost when public funds compensate victims and officers responsible for abuses avoid sanctions.
The group pointed to allegations involving other police units. In a report published Feb. 25, Amnesty International documented allegations of unlawful detention, torture, extortion and disappearances at Tiger Base, an Imo State police unit. Its investigation included interviews with 23 people. Amnesty said police acknowledged its findings and told the organization an audit had been ordered.
On May 14, the Imo State Police Command announced that it had dissolved Tiger Base and established a Violent Crime Response Unit. The command said officers assigned to the new unit had been screened and trained, and that a civilian board would receive complaints and monitor its work.
RULAAC is also seeking publication of outstanding panel reports, independent investigations of serious allegations and regular public figures on complaints and disciplinary outcomes. It attributes the persistence of abuse to weak supervision and enforcement.
