Kayode Oyero
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has said the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force crushed the spirits of police officers across the country.
The governor was reacting to the nationwide violence and looting by hoodlums in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.
Many Nigerians have wondered why rampaging hoodlums are having a field day destroying lives and properties in the country despite the presence of security operatives.
There have been reports of hoodlums overpowering police officers to burn down police stations and other infrastructure they guard.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday which was monitored by The PUNCH, Bello explained that the pronouncement by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, affected the morale of police operatives.
The IGP had scrapped the special police unit in the wake of the #EndSARS protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings.
Adamu had also announced a replacement for the police unit known as the Special Weapons and Tactics unit.
Bello, however, said not everyone believes in the #EndSARS protests, adding that the scrapping of SARS dispirited police officers and caused them to leave the streets which had in turn given hoodlums the opportunity to oppress the masses.
“Now SARS has ended, police morale has been dampened, they have gone off the streets, and the hoodlums have taken to the streets. Who do we report to?” the governor asked during the programme.
Earlier, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in a broadcast last week also said the disbandment of SARS was taken as a weakness of his regime.
