According to the report, detainees told Amnesty International they had been subjected to horrific torture methods, including hanging, starvation, beatings, shootings and mock executions, at the hands of corrupt officers from the feared Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) of the police force. Amnesty International has received reports from lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists and collected testimonies stating that some police officers in Sars regularly demand bribes, steal and extort money from criminal suspects and their families.
Damian Ugwu, Amnesty International’s Nigeria researcher, said: “A police unit created to protect the people has instead become a danger to society, torturing its victims with complete impunity while fomenting a toxic climate of fear and corruption. Sars officers are getting rich through their brutality.
"In Nigeria, it seems that torture is a lucrative business. Our research has uncovered a pattern of ruthless human rights violations where victims are arrested and tortured until they either make a ‘confession’ or pay officers a bribe to be released.”
He added that Sars detainees are held in a variety of locations, including a grim detention centre in Abuja known as the Abattoir, where Amnesty International found 130 detainees living in overcrowded cells. Amnesty International’s research showed that in addition to its stated remit of tackling violent crime, Sars investigates civil matters and in some cases tortures detainees involved in contractual, business and even non-criminal disputes.
When asked by Amnesty International to explain why no officers had been suspended or prosecuted for torture, the police simply denied that any torture had taken place. The report also said that a senior officer disclosed that around 40 officers alleged to have carried out various acts of torture and ill-treatment of detainees were transferred to other stations in April 2016. He did not say whether the claims against them were being investigated.
Mr Ugwu added: “This lack of accountability breeds and perpetuates impunity, creating an environment where Sars officers believe they have carte blanche to carry out acts of torture. This is hardly surprising when many of these officers have bribed their way to Sars in the first place and the police chiefs in charge are themselves entwined in the corruption.”
Apart from demanding bribes, Sars officers have been accused of stealing or confiscating property from relatives of detained suspects. Some family members told Amnesty International that Sars officers also stole their cars or withdrew all the money from their bank accounts.
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