President, Muhammadu Buhari has said some Nigerians mistook as weakness , the swift response of his regime to disband the Special Anti- Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force .
Buhari made this known in a live broadcast on Thursday evening.
The Inspector – General of Police , Mohammed Adamu , had scrapped the special police unit in the wake of the # EndSARS protests.
Adamu had announced the Special Weapons and Tactics team as replacement for the disbanded team.
Addressing Nigerians on Thursday , the President said , “ As a democratic government , we listened to , and carefully evaluated the five- point demands of the protesters . And, having accepted them, we immediately scrapped SARS, and put measures in place to address the other demands of our youth .
“ On approving the termination of SARS, I already made it clear that it was in line with our commitment to the implementation of extensive Police reforms .
“ Sadly, the promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish unpatriotic interests .
“ The result of this is clear to all observers : human lives have been lost ; acts of sexual violence have been reported ; two major correctional facilities were attacked and convicts freed; public and private properties completely destroyed or vandalised ; the sanctity of the Palace of a Peace Maker , the Oba of Lagos has been violated. So – called protesters have invaded an International Airport and in the process disrupted the travel plans of fellow Nigerians and our visitors . ”
