Johannesburg- The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has condemned the police brutality by a special police unit within Nigerian law enforcement unit called SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad).
In a statement the EFF said that SARS “is notorious for what can only be described as gross human rights violations, operating as a terrorist grouping and tormenting the people of Nigeria”.
The party called the SARS unit a disgrace to Africa and all principles of democracy and humanity.
On Friday, the Nigerian police used teargas to disperse people who gathered in Abuja to protest against SARS.
Protests erupted across Nigeria after a video circulated last week allegedly showing members of the controversial unit fatally shooting a man in the Delta state.
The EFF is reiterating the call by the Nigerian activists to scrap the SARS unit completely.
“An entity that exists for the purposes of terror and self-enrichment has no real authority to present itself as law enforcement,” said the EFF.
The EFF repeated calls Nigerian activists for compensation to be provided to all of the victims of the SARS unit and for an inquiry to investigate past and present acts against Nigerian citizens.
“We call on the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to investigate the crimes against humanity committed by what is essentially a militia that is a law upon itself. The SARS unit has no place in a civilised society and we stand with activists in the continent and diaspora in condemining police brutality and demanding justice,” concluded the EFF in their statement.
IOL