Youths in Anambra State on Monday staged a peaceful protest against the call by some groups to scrap the Special Anti robybery Squad (SARS) in the country, saying that doing so will mean invitation to violent crime.
The group, under the aegis of concerned Anambra residents, drawn from various local government areas in the state, converged at the entrance gate of the SARS office, in Awkuzu, Oyi local government area of the state.
The protesters, comprising both men and women, carried placards with various inscriptions like ‘Removal of SARS, an invitation to kidnapping, robbery’, ‘We want crime free Christmas and new year,’ ‘Let SARS be’, among others.
Addressing newsmen, the convener, and the Special Assistant to the Anambra State governor on political matters, Okafor Emeka, said the protest was to drive home their demands on the consequences of scrapping the unit.
He attributed the relative peace existing in the state to the active and aggressive operations of that arm of the police force, insisting that any attempt to scrap the unit would amount to return of all forms of crimes and criminality in the state.
Also speaking, the chairman on the Police Community Relations Committee, Chief Francis Ezenwankwo, said those calling for the scrapping of the unit had selfish and ulterior motives, calling on them to have a rethink.
He acknowledged that the officials of the unit may have their shortcomings, but argued that rather than scrap them, they should be reformed and repositioned for better service delivery.
“We have a system where erring officers are disciplined, including redeployment, training and retraining to bring out the best from them,” he said.
The governor’s aide who later handed over the letter written to the Inspector General of Police by the group to the state Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, pleaded with the IG to use his good offices to ensure that SARS remained in the state.
He said refusal to heed to their call would compel the group to carry the protest to the police headquarters in Abuja.
Responding, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chris Owolabi, who represented the commissioner of Police, commended the group for their peaceful conduct, promising that their message would be delivered appropriately.
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