Police Dismiss SARS Officer Over Remo Player’s Death
The Nigeria Police Force, Ogun State Command, has dismissed a Special Anti-Robbery Squad officer, Olaniyi Ogunsoro, from the Force, following his role in the death of Remo Stars assistant captain Tiamiyu Kazeem, on Saturday.
Kazeem, nicknamed Kaka, was crushed by a hit-and-run driver on the Sagamu-Abeokuta Expressway after he was arrested by the SARS officers and was being taken to their office in Abeokuta.
While a police statement said the footballer jumped out of the vehicle in an attempt to escape and was crushed by an oncoming vehicle, Sanni Abubakar, a friend and teammate of Kazeem, who was also arrested by the SARS officials, said the SARS officials pushed Tiamiyu out of their Toyota Sienna vehicle before he was killed by an oncoming car.
While speaking with our correspondent on Tuesday, Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed that the erring officer had been dismissed from service.
“The SARS officer Olaniyi Ogunsoro has been dismissed from service,” Oyeyemi said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters, Mr Ogunyonwon Peter, has visited the family residence of the deceased on Tuesday in Sagamu to commiserate with them.
According to Tiamiyu’s father, Fasasi, the DIG promised the family that the Nigeria Police Force will not spare any officer involved in the dastardly act.
Fasasi said,
“The DIG, Mr Peter Ogunyonwo, was here today (Tuesday), so was Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State. They were here to commiserate with me and my family over the sad death of my son.
“Governor Dapo told us that the Ogun State Government would ensure that justice was served over this matter and the culprits would have their day in court.”
He added,
“The DIG promised us that the police command would ensure that there was no cover-up of any sort in this case.
“In fact, we learnt from him that the SARS officers were actually on illegal duty and they were even away from their area of operation.
“The DIG told us that SARS as a unit was established to tackle the menace of armed robbery and other violent crimes, so what they have just done is out of their jurisdiction.”
Also, Fasasi said that the DIG said the officers involved in the incident had been suspended in order to ensure that investigation was properly carried out.
The Remo Stars’ defender’s death sparked riots in Sagamu on Monday, with two protesters reportedly killed and three seriously injured.