Kolade Johnson: Buhari frowns at SARS, promises prosecution of perpetrators

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed regret over the recent action of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Police Command in Lagos, which led to the avoidable death of Kolade Johnson.

President Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Wednesday, acknowledged the genuine outrage regarding the activities of SARS.

The president reassured the public that swift actions had already been taken as the suspects were in custody.

He said that an orderly room trial was set to commence immediately, following which indicted officers would be prosecuted in court.

Buhari, who commiserated deeply with the family of the deceased, said: “Government will not tolerate, in any way, the brutalization of Nigerians or the violation of their rights.

“Any officer of the law enforcement agencies or any other government functionary caught in this act will certainly be visited with the full weight of the law,” the president said.

He recalled that the Presidency, in 2018 directed overhaul of the management and activities of the SARS, the president said steps were taken by the Police leadership to restructure and reform the squad.

Buhari however, observed that a lot more remained to be done and sustained.

The president pledged his administration’s resolve to ensure that the Police and other law enforcement agencies conducted their operations in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regard to International Human Rights and Humanitarian Laws.

Our correspondent reports that Johnson had on March 31, gone to watch a football match when he was hit by stray bullet from policemen attached to the Police Anti-Cultism Unit.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, had already revealed the names of policemen involved in the killing of Kolade Johnson at Mangoro area of the state.

Muazu, who made the revelation when he paid a condolence visit to the deceased’s family, identified the officers as: Insp. Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sgt. Godwin Orji attached to Anti Cultism Squad.