A rally was held in Maiduguri on Tuesday to express anger over the recent disbandment of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARs). The FSARS was disbanded by the Federal government late last week following numerous accusations of brutality, human rights violations and extra-judicial killings made against the unit. A wave of outrage was fed earlier this month by graphic footage shared online, and many experiences of abuse over the years.

The rally in Maiduguri was organised by the Network of Civil Society Organizations.

While speaking to our reporter Hadiza Dawud, Ambassador Ahmed Shehu the Chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Borno said that the purpose of the rally was to express anger about the recent disbandment of FSARS, and to call on the federal government to redeploy the FSARs personnel to the state to complement the effort of the military in the fight against Boko Haram.

Ambassador Shehu added that they were on the streets to show their solidarity with FSARs, considering the vital role it played in the fight against terrorism in the state, and in Nigeria at large.

Some of the participants in the rally agreed that ending SARS is not an option considering the critical roles the operatives played in fighting the northeastern insurgencies.

According to security expert, Buba Gadzama the best solution to this problem is reform not the dissolution of FSARs. He insisted that considering the current situation of insecurity in the country the government needs to think again.