Protests against the Anti-Robbery Special Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force rocked part of Kaduna metropolis Tuesday, with demonstrators shouting “We are fed up with SARS”.
The Federal Government has banned the operation of the SARS unit in response to popular demand by Nigerians who have accused it of gross abuses and misconduct.
The Kaduna protesters, who trekked from the popular Station Roundabout under the watch of security forces made up of police, civil defence, among others, stopped by the Waterboard area of Barnawa in Kaduna city.
The demonstrators shared bottled water freely among themselves due high temperatures, with motorists having to make detours to avoid traffic.
Our correspondent who monitored the protest noted that once in a while security operatives ordered the protesters to sit on the ground, perhaps to prevent the crowd from breaking into adjoining offices and shops.
Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “This is not political, we are fed up with SARS”, “Nigerians are not armed robbers, we say no to SARS”, “SARS is a disgrace to our country”.
When our correspondent sought to speak with the leader of the protesters, one of them retorted: “We have no leader, we are for Nigeria, we don’t need journalists now. When we need journalists, we will let you know”.
Customers at a nearby commercial bank ATM queue quickly cleared the area to avoid chaos on sighting the protest march, our correspondent reports.
