Letter To The Editor: SARS Killing At Iwo Appalling

While commiserating with the family members of the victim, a student, Nafiu Tunde, killed by men of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Iwo, we must condemn this inhumane act.

Tunde was said to be in town to celebrate Eid el-Kabir festival before being gunned down on his way to Iwo from Oluponna.

The killing at Iwo is one of the very many evils men of the SARS have been perpetrating all over the federation.

This followed series of complaints shared by young Nigerians who seem to be the targets and objects of onslaughts in the hands of men of the SARS who are paid to secure their lives.

It has been reported of them how they use rented mini-buses and rickety motorcycles to trail suspects in a menacing manner that often creates public nuisance. If you are a youth moving around with a bag containing a laptop, or driving in the company of friends in a good car, you are likely to be accosted and sometimes harassed by SARS operatives. Terrible tales have also been told of unjustified arrests of persons, only for such persons to be extorted and even sometimes led at gunpoint to automated transfer machines (ATM) to either withdraw cash or transfer same to accounts of policemen.

This has led to some Nigerians calling for the scrapping of Special Anti Robbery Squad, famously known as SARS.

Meanwhile, the reactions of the youths in the area was nothing to write home about as they took laws into their hands, destroyed a police station as a way to avenge the death of their colleague. But for the efforts of the traditional ruler of the town, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Olawale Akanbi (Telu I) for whose timely intervention put a stop to what could have degenerated into a full-blown crisis the story told of this would have been gruesome.

Our youths must come to the realization of the fact that two wrongs can never make a right, taking laws into their hands is as bad as the offence committed and it is liable to jail terms.

However, the incident should be investigated and perpetrators of the dastardly act must be brought to justice, only this can assuage the bereaved and the irate youths in the area.

Also, the IG must go and do as stated by the Acting President Yemi Osibanjo. He must overhaul that unit with a great deal of sincerity of purpose so has to drag out the name of the SARS currently cooling off in the mud.