The Personal Assistant to the President on New Media, Bashir Ahmad says he did not announce the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on three previous occasions.
He stated this in a series of tweets on Monday.
Recall that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu announced the scrapping of the tactical squad on Sunday, October 11.
He did this in response to the EndSARS protests.
However, many protesters scoffed at the IGP’s announcement, saying that similar announcements in the past caused no change.
The protesters on many occasions cited tweets from Ahmad in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as evidence.
They, therefore, vowed to remain on the streets until definitive action was taken to back up the announcement.
See some of the tweets attributed to Ahmad:
Reacting, Ahmad said it was not true that he announced the scrapping of SARS in three previous years.
He wrote, “Tweets from me, from 2017, 18, 19 and 20 on the defunct SARS, the reorganization and overhaul, etc.
“Please note that SARS has never been disbanded or dissolved by any administration until on October 11, 2020, when President @MBuhari directed IGP to do so.
“What has happened previously is reorganizations of the operational structure and chain of command of the defunct police unit, by various IGPs.
“What the Inspector-General announced on October 11, was unprecedented. It was a complete dissolution of SARS. The unit is now defunct.
“There are various false and misleading headlines and social media posts out there saying the SARS has been disbanded multiple time is not true. Thank you!”
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