SARS at it again
BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
Employing subterfuge and forceful tactics the Special Anti-robbery Squad, SARS in Abuja has arrested and detained Mr. Samuel Ogundipe, a reporter with Premium Times, an online newspaper. The police did not only detain the journalist for refusing to disclose his source of information for his stories they considered “negative ” about the police, they also decided to freeze his bank account. They account, which was frozen without court order was done to force him to disclose his source of information.
And that happened on Tuesday, the day Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the acting president gave a directive to Ibrahim Idris, inspector general of police to overhaul SARS and ensure observance of rule of law and human rights. The acting president’s directive was a reaction to series of complaints about the tactics of operatives of SARS, which negates the rule of law and human rights.
The police did not directly invite Mr. Ogundipe. What the SARS did was to invite his colleague, Ms Azeezat Adedigba through telephone. But when the management of Premium Times asked for a formal invitation, the police sent a letter inviting her for a chat. In the letter signed by assistant commissioner of police, Sanusi Mohammed, the police falsely claimed that Ms Adedigba was needed in connection with some crimes. It reads in part: “This office is investigating a case of criminal conspiracy, cybercrime, attempted kidnapping and fraudulent act that your name and phone number featured.”
But when she got there, accompanied by Mr. Musikilu Mojeed, her editor-in-chief she was given a number to call, which happened to be that of Mr. Ogundipe. Mr. Mojeed invited Ogundipe on police request.
When, however, their target arrived, Ms Adedigba was let off the hook, without consideration to the psychological trauma they may have caused her for the false allegations and the long hours she was kept at the police formation, so as to use her to bait her colleague.
However, Messrs Mojeed and Ogundipe were detained. The editor was eventually allowed to go, but not after he had been manhandled by operatives of SARS for daring to caution them. That was when they were told that the intention of the police was to arrest Ogundipe so he could disclose to them the source of his stories on police. Some of the operatives were said to have discretely hinted the Premium Times that the order for the arrest came from Mr. Idris.
It is suspected that the interest of the police is in the source of the report Mr. Idris submitted to the office of the acting president on his investigation into the lockdown of the National Assembly last week by the Directorate of state services, DSS. The police, which was given the assignment to conduct the investigation had reportedly told the acting president in the report that Mr. Lawal Daura , former head of DSS did not share the said security report, which purportedly necessitated the lockdown of an arm of government, with other security agencies. But Premium Times was not the only news medium that published content of the report.