Except a total rehabilitation and reformation of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) is carried out, criminality and the oppression of citizens will persist, says Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo.
Badejo made this assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, in Lagos.
The Catholic Church bishop said that the scrapping of SARS could at best be described as `a scraping’ of the problem on its surface or removing the tip of the iceberg.
“It is not the solution. You may take it as a `first aid’ by the authorities to buy time before they will sincerely address a much larger problem.
“ Maybe we should all be having an “end corruption’’ or “end sectionalism’’ or “end yahoo yahoo’’ protest marches.”
He said that the structure that gave birth to SARS in the first place might generate other monsters if the system is not well reformed.
“Perhaps the decadent SARS officers have been pampered and allowed to overshadow the good ones who have made a big sacrifice to protect public safety,’’ he said.
This decadence, he said, had been made fertile following the inactivity of the rule of law.
NAN reports that despite the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), protests against their brutality have continued in cities across the country.
The public have continued to accuse SARS operatives of several acts of human rights violations, illegal arrests and detention, extrajudicial killings, sexual harassment of women and brutalization of young Nigerians.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, after announcing the disbandment of SARS, following nationwide protests, created a new unit, the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), in its replacement.
However, youths across the country have rejected the new unit, calling for reformations across board.
Badejo said that for justice to be served, various officers involved in extrajudicial activities must face the law.
According to him, every Nigerian must take responsibility for demanding accountability from government institutions.
He also advised the protesters never to revel in their growing numbers, but that they should also reassess their purpose and focus.
“Let the government deploy all legitimate means to secure dialogue, take action to assuage hurts and bring the guilty to book,” he said.
Badejo also urged the government to be responsive to the complaints on theft of public funds, insurgency, exorbitant cost of governance, lopsidedness in appointments and general the disconnectedness of top officials from the reality of suffering masses.
He said that the restive nature of youths had been engendered by accumulated grievances with little attention from the government.
“All institutions and civil society groups should speak up for what is right and support the outcry of the public on issues that do not relate to remunerations and benefits.
“We don’t have to wait for students or the church to organise peaceful protests.
“Let the authorities remember that the power of the people will always be greater than the people in power,” Badejo said. (NAN)
