About 30 individuals and various groups have filed petitions before the Katsina State Commission of Inquiry into the excesses of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
This was disclosed at the panel’s inaugural sitting held in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State, Northwest Nigeria on Thursday.
Majority of the complaints and petitions filed by the petitioners bothered on extortions, illegal arrests and detentions by operatives of the SARS.
Petitioners recounted their experiences in the hands of the dreaded SARS officials when they were apprehended and detained.
Shehu Dada, Secretary-General of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) Katsina State chapter, who is also one of the petitioners told the panel of his painful experience after he was invited by the SARS to its Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Dada said was detained by the SARS operatives for over one month over an offence he knew nothing about without even taking his statement.
Speaking at the opening of the hearing, Justice Abdullahi Bawale of the Katsina State High Court who is also the panel Chairman, assured peitioners at the hearing that the panel will ensure justice and fairness to all parties.
The panel was set up following a presidential directive to the 36 states of the federation to investigate the excesses of the disbanded SARS and determine further legal actions to be taken against guilty officers.
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