Disbandment of Nigeria’s Controversial Force “a mere first aid, not the solution”: Bishop

While announcing the disbandment of SARS, Nigeria’s Police spokesman, Frank Mba said that members of the controversial unit would be redeployed to other units within the police force, a matter that has been contested, with protesters calling for investigations and action against officers implicated in atrocities.

Demonstrators in the West African nation have also protested against the new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) whose members are expected to carry out duties previously done by SARS. 

In the report shared with ACI Africa, Bishop Badejo acknowledges the importance of the ongoing protests saying it is “good especially as we seemed to have an unresponsive government, which now seems to have been forced (to) awake.”

The 59-year-old Nigerian Prelate however expresses his concerns about the hijacking of the demonstrations “by devious people who have no clear idea what a protest should be and who really don’t care.”

The infiltration of the protests, the Bishops thinks, is because Nigerians have “so much pent up anger against so many occurrences in the country that many people are not ready to reason with anybody.”

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“All they want is an opportunity to lash out in vengeful action. This is not good for our nation,” the Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Oyo Diocese who doubles as the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) says.

He calls on the protesters to reassess their and urges the government to deploy all legitimate means to secure dialogue. 

Referencing the redeployment of SARS officers to other police units, Bishop Badejo suggests “a program of discernment and rehabilitation” to help their reforming. 

“We must find out those who can still be helped and rehabilitated,” he says and adds in reference to the rehabilitation of former insurgents, “Officers of SARS are Nigerian citizens too and, in a certain sense, products of the bigger monster that is our condition.”  

He continues, “Those who have run foul of the law and deserve to be dismissed must be seen to face the music. For some, it might even be as serious as not being allowed to hold public office ever again. Then, yes, they can be helped to take up other private activities.”

The Bishop also calls on individuals and members of various civic groups to support public outcry on issues that do not concern remunerations and benefit.

“We all have no other country but Nigeria. Let the authorities remember that we are all their brothers and sisters, citizens of the same country and remember that the power of the people will always be greater than the people in power,” Bishop Badejo says in the report shared with ACI Africa October 16.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.