AGF says there’s no sufficient evidence to prosecute 33 indicted ex-SARS operatives

The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation says there’s no sufficient evidence to prosecute operatives of the recently-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad indicted in last year’s report of a Presidential Investigative Panel, ThePunch reports.
This is contained in a report of the committee set up by Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation to review the individual cases recommended for prosecution by the special presidential panel.

Owing to the report, the Office of the AGF has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed to set up “a special investigation team” to conduct a “thorough investigation” into the cases.

Recall that the Presidential Panel led by Tony Ojukwu, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), started investigating complaints of brutal activities of SARS in 2018.

On June 3, 2019, the panel submitted its report to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The report indicted a total of 35 police operatives in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory for various rights violations including, extra-judicial killing, death in police custody, unlawful arrest among others.

In the report, 33 of the indicted officers were recommended for prosecution and punishments such as demotion and dismissal.

The panel’s report also recommended that 57 victims be paid about N249m as compensation while the police should tender public apology to 35.

In October, the NHRC submitted the report to the AGF together with the list of police operatives recommended for prosecution.

SARS operatives are always in the news for assaulting Nigerians (Punch) But after reviewing the report, the committee set up by the AGF said the panel’s report “does not meet prosecutorial needs” because there were no vital exhibits, such as “medical evidence and statements of the suspects” in the report.

“The report of the panel does not meet prosecutorial needs. No proper investigation was concluded in all the cases. Admissible evidence such as exhibits, medical evidence, statements of the suspects and witnesses that can be used in court have not been obtained or recorded in the appropriate sheet from the suspects and witnesses by the appropriate investigation team.” the AGF committee added.

The committee also maintained that officers indicted in the panel’s report “are still in the service and ought to go through the internal police disciplinary measures to avoid prosecuting officers in uniform”.

The committee further stated that certain actions “must be taken in earnest” for the AGF office “to be able to successfully implement the panel’s recommendations”.

The actions include an establishment of a special team to investigate individual cases, while indicted officers are made to undergo disciplinary actions and dismissed from service where necessary.

“The indicted officers should be made to undergo disciplinary actions immediately and dismissed where appropriate.

“That the IGP who is well aware of the sensitivity of the matter should be advised to set up a special investigation team to conduct a thorough investigation into the individual cases.

“That after thorough investigation, the cases that are federal offences or fall within the FCT will be prosecuted by the office of the HAGF while those that are state offences will be transferred to the respective states for prosecution.” the AGF committee stated.