#END_SARS_NOW

When white police officers shoot and kill armless black people, it's easy to label it institutionalised racism, which makes it difficult to explain what to term the same barbarity when it happens between policemen in Nigeria, killing Nigerian youths when both are black. What is most unfortunate about this, is that in America the government joins in the conversation, while in Nigeria the organs of government keep mum, almost as if the police is acting according to instructions from them. The frequency with which the anti - robbery squad have been going about mowing down the youth of this country in recent times with brazen impunity, compared to the recent past where activities by them tail off after another video of them extrajudicially murdering someone comes to fore, and are then reported to have been arrested and awaiting prosecution, suggests that either they've seen that no punishment was eventually meted out to the erring ones formerly arrested, or whatever leash or restrictions that existed (no matter how weak), has now been totally lifted.

There are certain peculiarities about the harassment and killing of Nigerians by mostly the Special Anti-Robberies Squad, SARS of the Nigerian Police, that leaves the discerning wondering if there's an agenda behind the unending tales of woe coming from Nigerian youths regarding they way they are being treated by the Nigerian police. The main peculiarity is the fact that most of these infringements on the rights of Nigerians occur in the South, leaving one to suspect a subjugation agenda against Southerners, especially the young people of the region. It used to be that they were profiled, and those with tattoos, dreadlocks, wearing jewellery, possessing expensive smart phones, driving state of the art automobiles, amongst others were targeted, however recent cases of harassment suggests that just about any other person is now a target for these men, and all of a sudden no one is safe, at the hands of those whose core responsibility is to protect Nigerians from the hands of armed robbers. Unfortunately, while these SARS men target those they've so profiled to be criminals or fraudsters, their ilks are the sort who provide security for the real gangsters, fraudsters and criminals in town, so what are we saying? 

The experiences of most Nigerians at the hands of these men have been horrifying to say the least. The least that can happen to those who are unfortunate to fall victims to them, is extortion. Victims could also get beaten up, sustaining life altering and/or threatening injuries sometimes, and in increasing cases, loss of lives. Though online personalities like the famous Segalink, have at various times come to the rescue of hapless Nigerians after coming in contact with these evil minded gun-toting wretches, sadly the experience once felt cannot be unfelt, and any compensation (usually refunds only) does little to nothing to erase the scars, physical as well as physiological, suffered by the victims. Also, the fact that Segalink and other activists like him cannot be allover Nigeria, even in the South where the activities of these criminals is rampant means that the unreported number of Nigerians who do not get redress is far more than those who do, and for the dead, they would have died, for nothing!

The saddest part of this is the silence. The silence from those who could truly cause all of this to stop. Those whose silence makes them appear complicit, include those in the executive arm of government, who by just issuing a statement could bring this to a halt, and also bringing to book errant members of the police force who perpetrate these heinous crimes, to members of the legislature who could raise the issue as a matter of urgent national importance, to people whose voices matter in the society, whose voices they speedily append to political talk, but have suddenly gone dumb, even deaf since the harassment and killing of armless Nigerians became a thing, amongst police officers, before you begin to mention so called influencers on social media, some of whom for some pittance turned their backs on the suffering of their fellow citizens by trying to justify the actions of the bloodletters in uniform.

Beyond ending SARS, a reorganisation of the Nigerian Police Force has become necessary, if not long overdue. This is because even before SARS became a menace, the regular police were not any better, and I have written about that in BAIL IS FREE, therefore any reform shouldn't be piecemeal, rather holistic, from those extorting motorists on the roads and highways, to those at the police station who make a lie of the fact that "bail is free", and the likes. This must be done if the shame that the Nigerian Police has constituted itself to be amongst Nigerians, and before the outside world is to be a thing of the past. Merely banning their activities on the road, as the Inspector General of Police has just done will not cut, as this latest action is the umpteenth time it's happening, only to subtly resume, and return to its menacing levels once again. We've been here before, hence much more than mere rhetorics is what is needed now, with the Police Reform Bill properly implemented to the latter, or if found wanting scrutinised to ensure that areas that provide leeway for the abuse of the rights of Nigerians are expunged.

'kovich