TAIWO FAROTIMI
The Amnesty International, a global human rights group has released a new report on torture by the Nigerian anti-robbery squad, SARS. The report titled, “You Have Signed Your Death Warrant” detailed atrocities committed by the special squad giving situation reports from different cities and locations in the country.
The 28-page report, which is a 2016 edition, highlights the torture, despite the setting up of a human rights unit in each formation and the establishment of the Complaint Response Unit, CRU set up by the office of the inspector general of police in November 2015. One of the victims so tortured in Anambra State reportedly gave this account:
“They brought a plain sheet and asked me to sign. When I signed it, they told me I have signed my death warrant. There were two policemen in the hall. They asked me if I knew how many people died there. They said that if I die, my blood will never be on their hands. They took me to the back of the building and tied my hands to the back. They also connected the rope to my legs, leaving me hanging on a suspended iron rod. They put the iron rod in the middle between my hands and the leg with my head facing the ground. My body ceased to function. I went limp. The IPO (Investigating Police Officer) came at intervals and told me to speak the truth. I lost consciousness. When I was about to die they took me down and poured water on me to revive me. They brought people from the cell to carry me inside the cell. I was detained for two weeks .”
There have been outrage against activities of SARS recently, with Nigerians campaigning for its abrogation, but the panel set up by the IG to address the issue is yet to come out with any report. The report is not the first by AI on torture by security authorities in Nigeria.
An earlier report on human rights record of the military is currently under probe in the Nigerian Senate.