The Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike has indicted men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of robbing innocent members of the public in Rivers State of their personal belongings.
In a state-wide broadcast on Friday, the Governor expressed the feelings of his people stating unequivocally that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad was always planting hard drugs on innocent citizens with the aim of incriminating them and added that for several months, the state government had been receiving reports from traumatized victims robbed of their valuables by SARS operatives under the guise of conducting searches.
“They employ several malevolent methods, including planting illicit drugs on their unsuspecting victims as the bargaining chip or forcefully taking them to ATM boots to collect a specified amount of money as ransom for their freedom.
” while the noticeable increase of kidnapping incidents along the East-West Road and the Owerri-Port Harcourt Road are worrisome, some of the rescued victims have reportedly pointed SARS operatives as the ones that are responsible for most of the kidnappings along those roads.
“Although the veracity of these allegations can only be fully established through an independent probe, the recent killing of a SARS operative while carrying out a kidnap operation by the Inspector General of Police’s Special Squad clearly lends credence to SARS direct involvement in criminal activities across the state.”
Wike further expressed his administration’s commitment to work together with security agencies, including the police with a view to guaranteeing the safety of lives and property across the state despite the deliberate obstacles from SARS operatives.
