The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a branch of the Nigerian Police Force created in 1992 to deal with widespread armed robbery crimes. They intended to combat crimes such as motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, and abuse of firearms. However, the group quickly gained controversy as ties to extrajudicial killings, torture, and police brutality were made clear. In 2015, following the appointment of a new Inspector General of Police (IGP), attempts were made to address the corruption of SARS. As a result, the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) was established, and SARS was split into two separate units for organizational purposes. Nevertheless, these reforms failed to create significant change. According to Amnesty International, eight out of the nine police officers they interviewed were unaware of these reforms. The same trend occurred when Amnesty International researchers visited SARS units in Abuja and Enugu in the summer of 2016. The sheer negligence of these police authorities for policy statements has become increasingly worrisome. SARS’ purpose was to decrease dangerous measures in Nigeria—but instead, they abused their power and fueled terror throughout the country.
WRITTEN BY: Sophie Guo & Lauren Goulette