The Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Ade Ipaye, says the nefarious activities of some policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, have negatively affected democracy and development in Nigeria.

Ipaye, who is attached to the Office of the Vice-President, said this during a two-day programme titled, ‘Nigeria Policing Programme Expert Roundtable on the Reforms of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad and the Role of External Accountability Agencies’.

The President’s aide said, “That the Special Anti-Robbery Squad needs to be reformed is not questionable. That public governance, democracy and development are being adversely affected by the distortions of F-SARS is common knowledge.

“What is wrong is well-known. The problems have been discussed threadbare and solutions exist. The only rationale for so little action or reform a cynic may see is that no concerted effort has been made to prioritise accountability for police misconduct and performance.”

Ipaye noted that a functional and friendly police force could either attract or repel public investors.

He said these were some of the reasons why the Federal Government decided to reform SARS.

Some of the reforms which the Office of the Inspector-General of Police has been implementing include changing the command structure of SARS from a state one to a federal one with the new name F-SARS.

Others include psychometric tests to measure the mental capabilities and behavioural style of the policemen; as well as continuous training.

Earlier, the acting Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr Dasuki Arabi, said, “The roundtable is designed to be fairly technical, among others, looking at the structure and mandates of various mechanisms to create stronger accountability mechanism of F-SARS in the performance of their duties.” – Punch

– Oct. 19, 2018 @ 7:35 GMT |