There are strong indications that the prosecution of the operatives of the disbanded Anti-robbery Squad, SARS, indicted in a report by Presidential Investigative Panel last year may drag for some time
This is following the claim by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation that there is no sufficient evidence to prosecute the 33 operatives of SARS indicted in the report.
The AGF’s office has therefore asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to set up “a special investigation team” to conduct “thorough investigation” into the cases.
This is contained in a report of a committee set up by the AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to review the individual cases recommended for prosecution by the special presidential panel, excerpts of which Punch correspondent obtained from a top police source on Friday.
The Presidential Panel led by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu, had between 2018 and 2019 probed complaints of brutal activities of SARS and had submitted its report to the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), on June 3, 2019.
The report indicted a total of 35 police operatives in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory for various rights violations including, extrajudicial killing, death in police custody, unlawful arrest, biased investigation, unlawful intimidation, harassment, criminal assault, torture, cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment, threat to life, extortion and confiscation of property, among others.
The report recommended 33 for prosecution, and punishment, including sanctions like reduction in rank and dismissal.
It also recommended that 57 victims be paid about N249m as compensation while the police should tender public apology to 35.
The NHRC on October 19, 2020 submitted the report to the AGF accompanied with a specific list of those recommended for prosecution.
But after reviewing the panel’s report, the committee set up by the AGF said the report “does not meet prosecutorial needs” as it was said to be lacking in vital exhibits, such as “medical evidence and statements of the suspects”.
