Operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) were allegedly involved in the extra-judicial killing of 30,400 Nigerians in the last 16 years, a newly-released report has said.
The report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law said SARS operatives killed an average of 370 persons per month and 4,440 yearly between 2004 to 2020.
The group, otherwise known as Intersociety, also claimed that no fewer than 200 #EndSARS protesters were killed during the recent protests across the country.
The report said SARS caused the death or disappearance of thousands of Nigerians who were illegally arrested or not tried before being executed in custody.
Intersociety, which is based in Onitsha, released the report signed by its director, Emeka Umeagbalasi, after the two-week-long #EndSARS protests and the disbandment of the police squad.
“Nigeria as a whole is most likely to have lost in the past sixteen years or since 2004 a total of 30,400 unprocessed citizens to police extrajudicial killings mainly perpetrated by its SARS,” said the report.
SARS had over the years been accused of extra-judicial killings, extortion and rights abuses by several rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
“Torture and extrajudicial killings by NPF personnel particularly its SARS are in most cases fueled by a trio of hate, corrupt and crude or unprofessional policing,” said Intersociety.
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