By Mumini Abdulkareem
An ex aide to former governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Amusa Bello last night added his voice to the ongoing conversation regarding the ban of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) by the federal government.
Bello who was also a former Commissioner of Police in Anambra state had once led the operation of the outfit during his time in service.
Speaking during a telephone interview with National Pilot last night, Bello opened up on why the dreaded outfit was successful during his time adding that outright scrapping of the outfit is not the solution to the situation.
He also said it will be difficult for the police to operate without the SARS which had trended negatively for several days running before the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu bowed to pressure to announced its proscription on Sunday.
He said rather than scrapping it, the officers supervising SARS operatives are the ones that should be blamed for their alleged atrocities.
According to him, “The misbehaviour of SARS was dragging the image of the police in the mud. It’s the officers supervising them that should be blamed. Their atrocities have been happening before even including in Ilorin.
“I wouldn’t subscribe to a total scrapping of the FSARS. They should engage tested, trusted and competent people to operate the unit. During our time, we were working as a team with other top police officers and we were well motivated and well paid and so there is no need to look for any body’s money to survive. But now there is no motivation again.
“During our time, we were given everything including money to repair our vehicle. Now the officers go out of their way to look for money and a lot of police look for money for themselves and hence you see them patrolling around looking for who to arrest. That is the issue”, he noted.
He described the outfit as a specialized setting charged with the responsibility of combating violent crime.
“They were not well supervised that is why they are doing all these rubbish. It should not be scrapped, but it should be reformed.
“There is no way Nigeria police will exist without SARS especially now that violence crime is on the rise. They should reform them”, he submitted.
