Samson Folarin
The photograph of a man alleged to be an operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigerian Police Force has elicited mixed reactions on the social media.
The photograph was posted by a man who claimed to be a former seaman in the Nigerian Navy.
When PUNCH Online got in touch with him, he opted to remain anonymous.
Asked where he took the photograph, the man said it was actually a friend of his that took the photograph after the friend’s unpalatable experience with the alleged SARS operative.
Our source claimed that the operative is popular in Egbeda area of Lagos.
He alleged that on the day the photograph was taken — Thursday –the ‘photographer’ was transiting from Iyana-Ipaja area when the driver of his commercial bus was stopped by a team of SARS operatives.
“They were in an unmarked commercial bus and they had stopped the driver of the bus my friend was travelling in.
“My friend is deaf and did not hear the instruction being passed to them; so, when other passengers came down from the bus, my friend sat still.
“This angered the SARS operative in this photograph and he slapped my friend repeatedly.
“After he was let go, my friend took the photograph. He did not ask me to post it on social media, but I decided to post it because of the oppressive attitude of these operatives,” our source said.“One of the SARS policemen harassing young men on the streets of Lagos,” he had tweeted along with the photo.
Meanwhile, some Nigerians have criticised the SARS after the photograph surfaced on the Internet on Friday.
The officer, who wore a fez cap to the back, was donned in a jacket marked F-SARS 002.
A walkie-talkie hung loosely on one of his breast pockets and an ID card on the other. The officer wore dark goggles.
The SARS man carried a rifle patched with adhesive tape on his left hand, while he had three magazines wrapped up with the rifle.
People who responded to the tweet said the officer was a popular face and is known for “harassing members of the public.”
“Saw him at Egbeda yesterday and actually used a whip to break the side mirror of a public bus that broke and splashed on a lady sitting beside the driver of the bus. Unruly manner,” @destayo67 wrote.
A user, Chigozie Olugazi, said the cop appeared terrifying.
“Imagine you’re running away from robbers and then you jam this one for road, won’t you just start singing “na double wahala for dead body”? Cos this one no resemble police ooo,” he tweeted.
The Lagos State Police spokesperson, DSP Bala Elkana, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to enquiries sent to his WhatsApp as of press time.