#SarsAlert: New Twitter account created to reveal location of SARS officers

By Emmanuel Awosika

A Twitter account @Sars_is_here has been created to warn others of the presence of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) officers.

According to a tweet, the account will monitor activities of SARS operatives and provide alerts to warn others.

“This profile does not support fraud, this profile only notifies where SARS officials are. Mention @Sars_is_here wherever and whenever you encounter SARS officials. This page would retweet. Together we can avoid being harassed,” a tweet from the account reads.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is a unit of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department and was established in 1992.

Among other things, the unit is empowered to apprehend, investigate and prosecute individuals guilty of crimes such as robbery, kidnapping and so on.

However, SARS operatives have come under fire in recent years due to their heavy handedness in dealing with suspects.

Many have accused the unit of extortion, blackmail, torture and several human violations, prompting calls for it to be disbanded.

The most prominent of these efforts is the #EndSARS campaign led by activist Segun Awosanya popularly called Segalink.

As at the time of writing, the handlers of the @Sars_is_here Twitter account are unknown. Twitter users have commended the handlers while others lamented the need to avoid security operatives meant to protect them.

“It beats my imagination that we have to resort to @sars_is_here and @sars_watch to know the location of the officers of an institution meant to protect us. Kudos to the people behind this handles. You are doing more for humanity,” @Ola_Osofowara tweeted.