Claim: Social media users claimed that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has been reformed.
Verdict: False! Findings revealed that SARS has not been reformed. The NPF earlier debunked this claim.
Full Text
On Oct. 8, 2020, Nigerians protested nationwide against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The Nigerian police unit was accused of extrajudicial killings and extorting young Nigerians. This protest, which started on October 8 across different regions in the country, led to the disbandment of SARS across the 36 states in Nigeria on Oct. 11, 2020.
However, DUBAWA noticed that social media users posted claims that SARS has recently been reformed with new rules of engagement. This claim made on LinkedIn by Prince Wonodi has garnered 134 comments and 121 reposts as of June 5, 2025.
The claim highlighted several new rules of engagement for SARS, one of which is “no SARS personnel is allowed to conduct a stop and search exercise unless there is a distress call from victims or members of the public.”
The Special Adviser posted the exact claim on Facebook to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage and Water Resources in Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe and has gathered 953 shares as of June 5, 2025.
Due to the nature of the claim and its impact on the credibility of security infrastructure in Nigeria, DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim.
Verification
We found a disclaimer posted on the NPF’s website on Feb. 10, 2025. Nigeria police Public Relations Officer, Oluwamuyiwa Adejobi, in the signed statement, disclosed that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which was disbanded on Oct. 11, 2020, is not back in operation and remains dissolved.
The disclaimer debunked information regarding SARS reformation and rules of engagement, and advised that such information should be treated with caution.
DUBAWA checked through the NPF social media X handle and noticed the same disclaimer was posted debunking the claim, with no updated information regarding SARS reformation.
Seeing this debunk was from February, and the claim is circulating again, we tried to contact the PRO to confirm if this is still the situation. However, all our efforts were unsuccessful as he did not respond to our calls or messages.
Also, because of how sensitive the information is, it would be expected that media organisations would report it. However, no verified news platform posted information regarding the SARS reformation.
Conclusion
SARS has not been reformed and remains dissolved. The NPF’s earlier claim was debunked, and no signs of its reformation are in sight at this time.