Ololade Adeyanju/
Oyo State government says it has commenced investigation into an alleged act of police brutality against a woman and her three-month-old daughter by an operative of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ibadan, the state capital.
Governor Seyi Makinde disclosed this today via his Twitter handle, @seyimakinde, while reacting to a complaint by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr. Tony Ojukwu, about the alleged conduct of the SARS operative, popularly known as Idowu SARS.
A trending video shows the SARS operative brandishing a pistol and threatening to shoot someone, as he was being restrained by people around.
The faces of his victims, one of whom dared him to fire, were however not visible in the video which lasted only nine seconds.
Some Twitter users however claimed that a longer version of the video, which reveals the full extent of the brutality the operative visited on his victims, has also been shared online.
NewsmakersNG learnt that the operative is notorious for routinely violating the rights of residents of the city.
Ojukwu’s tweets, via @TonyOjukwuO, read, “Gov @seyiamakinde, my team is on this but this report on a @PoliceNG SARS Officer popularly known as “Idowu Sars” who pulled up a gun & beat up a woman & her 3 month old baby in Ibadan is disheartening. Immediate action needs to be taken TOWARDS JUSTICE!
“More videos of “Idowu SARS” with his gun out in public, violating the rights of Nigerian citizens. The Oyo State government and @PoliceNG should not allow this to go unpunished. This kind of lawlessness costs lives and makes people lose faith in the force.”
Makinde noted in his response that the state government was aware of the incident and had already initiated a probe into it.
The governor tweeted “Thank you for reaching out, @TonyOjukwuO. We are already following up on this issue.”
See video: