National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to commence the prosecution of 35 officers of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) indicted in a report of the Presidential Investigation Panel.
The charge was given by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr Tony Ojukwu, on Monday, October 19 while presenting a list of the said offenders to the AGF in Abuja.
Ojukwu while disclosing that the list was an extract of the full report earlier submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari in June last year, said that the submission was in line with the mandate of the panel.
According to the Executive Secretary, the list contained the names of all those indicted and should be prosecuted for various offences by the AGF.
He added that the report of the panel also contained the findings on the complaints gathered from Nigerians during its sitting in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Ojukwu expressed;
We have also brought the original copy of the full report, which will also guide the office of the Attorney-General in looking at the details for the required prosecution, because the summary will not have all the documents.
We brought the full set of the report which will guide the prosecuting officers.
He, however, appealed to the AGF to ensure that the Federal Government implements the panel’s recommendations.
On his part, Malami, assured that his office would take all necessary steps to ensure that justice is done to the list presented to him for prosecution.
The AGF said;
We have a mandate to establish a constitutional order where the welfare and peaceful co-existence of citizens are prioritised against personal or group interest.
Malami stressed that the current administration had in the past put modalities in place to give the Police the support they need to improve their welfare and do their work professionally.
He added that Police Act 2020 has provided answers to the various problems affecting the Police Force, including their operations and welfare as captured in the Police Trust Fund.
Malami said the Federal Government had been mindful of the totality of the interest, welfare, security and well-being of all citizens before the current agitations to reform the force.
