Kingsley Tariuwa

A young man arrested by officials of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Kingsley Tariuwa on the 5th of January 2020 has been allegedly killed in their custody.

According to reports, he was arrested by SARS operatives on the 5th of Jan in Port Harcourt.

He was arrested alongside three others at the Boss lounge, a popular  night club in Port Harcourt around 8pm by men identified as SARS Officers.

On arrival, the SARS operatives were cleared in, by one mobile police officer identified as Elisha Hassan, who was in charge of security at the night club. It was someone at the lounge who recognised Kingsley, that told his family about his arrest.

His siblings went to the Boss lounge the next day to confirm happened. They met the mobile policeman Elisha Hassan who allegedly cleared the SARS officers in to inquire about Kingsley. He told them it was SARS Officers that made the arrest.

Kingsley’s elder brother Tariuwa Ezekiel  went to SARS office in port harcourt to inquire about his brother’s arrest but was told his was not there.

He also went to their headquarters and a lady who radioed all the stations around searching for Kingsley, but none of the stations agreed to have him/them in custody.

He was advised to go and confirm once again from the mobile officer at the Boss lounge about who actually made the arrest. When he got back to the club, the Mopol officer Elisha Hassan still insisted it was SARS.

That Special Anti Robbery Squad was boldly inscribed on their vehicle. That the boys just followed them calmly, and most people in the lounge didn’t know what transpired. He now called the phone number those SARS Officer left with him.

When the SARS Officer who allegedly made the arrest was called and he picked the call, Hassan told him that he is the Mopol man at the night club last night, that the relations of the boys they arrested are here with him. And the SARS Officer on the other side of the phone allegedly  said; “Forget them! Them don come our office today.

In fact commander don tell them say no be we arrest the boys. we don travel those boys, shae u understand, we don clear them, no where e reach, nothing go happen”.

The commissioner of police  directed the DCP state CIID to handle the case. ASP Rufus was the alleged IPO, and the one in charge of the case at state CIID.

He invited the mobile policeman, the management of the Boss lounge and SARS on 16th of January to appear at the state CIID.

Everyone showed, up except SARS. The mobile policeman Hassan was detained. ASP RUFUS, then invited SARS again, but they didn’t show up. When SARS refused to show up, Ezekiel Tariuwa contacted police about the case but was given a case tracking no CRU100371 since January 20.Kingsley’s family waited for the police, but nothing was forth coming.

Unfortunately, it was discovered that Kingsley Tariuwa was allegedly killed in custody by SARS operatives on January 5th by CSP Jovinus Iwuh and his body was deposited at UPTH and his family were not informed for over 10 months.