Lady Calls For Justice For Her Cousin Who Was Attacked By SARS

A Nigerian lady, Fatima Babashehu Liman, has called for justice after her cousin was allegedly attacked by SARS officials in Abuja on Monday, May 18.

Read Fatima’s post below

JUSTICE FOR SADIQ!!!
With a deep sorrowful broken heart, I write this painful story of what happened to my cousin today. Today as a Nigerian citizen, I have seen the highest order of abuse of office by the SARS officers and cruelty.

At about 1 pm SARS officers jumped the fence and entered my aunt’s house in Gwarinpa Abuja, and started shooting, Sadiq was performing ablution for zuhr prayers.

On sighting one of the officers shooting, he got scared and he thought they were armed robbers. Out of fear, he jumped into their neighbour’s house. One of the officers shot him on the hand, Sadiq was bleeding. He handcuffed Sadiq and one of the neighbour’s son and took them into their vehicle. Meanwhile, the remaining officers broke the doors into the house, brought out the remaining boys and her Husband and started beating them up and took them away and after some minutes, some of the officers came back to the house and packed the bullets that were on the floor in an attempt to hide evidence.

After making several phone calls, they were said to be taken to the SARS office at Guzape with a lot of cooked up stories. On reaching there, they took us to see one of the heads of the office. He narrated the story that the officers were chasing a kidnapper demanding a ransom and the kidnapper jumped into my aunt’s house and that they didn’t shoot anybody, that Sadiq got injured by barbed wire while trying to escape and that Sadiq is the kidnapper.

I Was Handcuffed Like A Common Criminal – Journalist Narrates Bitter Experience With SARS(Opens in a new browser tab)

After narrating our own side of the story, the officer realized they were some hidden facts. After clear listening to his step mum, the officer asked them to release everybody. I demanded they take Sadiq to the hospital and get him treated and they must foot the bills. The commander and his deputy threatened to arrest me for saying that, and he said everyone should be rearrested he is not releasing anybody.

After going back and forth, I insisted they give us Sadiq for treatment and seeing is a gunshot injury, none of the hospitals will accept us without a police officer attached to us. I demanded one of the police officers accompanied us to the hospital. They took Sadiq into their Hilux vehicle, drove him to National Hospital, and left. The Doctors told them to wait behind and submit their statement, they refused and left us there.

When the bandage on Sadiq’s hand was removed, it was a gunshot injury. The bullet has damaged his Radius and Ulna bone, and also damaged the whole tendons on the wrist. We are demanding justice for Sadiq and the entire Family if there is any justice remaining in Nigeria, if not we have raised our hands and prayed to Allah in this Holy month for divine intervention, but today as a Nigerian Citizen, our government has failed us.

SARS officers are very cruel and inhumane, the officer that shot Sadiq was looking like a hoodlum, with is tattered hairstyle and chains hanging around his neck, if anyone can help us raise the alarm until it reaches the ears that need to hear and Justice is given to Sadiq it will be appreciated, pls help us share until it reaches the ears that need to hear… This is Sadiq’s picture at the trauma Centre in National Hospital Abuja…”