The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has given assurance that training of a new police unit to take over the responsibilities of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) will commence next week.
IGP Adamu made the disclosure in Abuja, when popular musician, David Adeleke aka Davido, visited him at the Force headquarters on Monday over the ongoing #EndSARS protests.
He said: “With SARS being disbanded, there was need to get a new structure to carry out the duties the defunct police unit was carrying out, which is fighting violent crimes. The new outfit would be intelligence-driven, properly trained and only act on special occasions that require their attention.
The unit would be made up of fresh personnel with a fresh orientation and not officers from the scrapped unit.
Opportunities would be created for members of the public to participate in and make inputs to the formation of the new unit.”
While calling for calm, Adamu stated that the Police top management will continue to seek ways to resolve all the issues. He noted that this was the first time the force has decisively taken to dissolve the unit.
Davido‘s visit to talk about the issue, said Adamu, is the best way to deal with the current problem.
Stated Adamu, “We just disbanded yesterday so protesters should calm down and give us time to fix the problem. The general public will be part of the process of getting a new outfit. I’m talking to you, so I will keep talking to many others and get civil societies involved and get their input towards the new unit,” Adamu said.
He promised to investigate all cases of brutality and bring perpetrators to book, adding that the issue of compensation to the families of those affected by SARS would be addressed when investigations are concluded.
“We want justice to be done and justice will be done. We admit the trust gap is wide but we will work to bridge that gap.
“Officers of the disbanded would be retrained and given other responsibilities in the Force, but will not be reabsorbed into the new unit,” he assured.
