A 50-year-old vigilante, Agbodemu Ishola, yesterday, disclosed that some members of Special Anti-robbery Squad, SARS, directly shot at him and the bullet did not penetrate his body because he had been ‘fortified’ by his father.
According to Vanguard, Ishola made the disclosure before the Presidential Panel on Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), Reform sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, where he was testifying against alleged violation of his fundamental human rights by SARS officers in 2017.
The public hearing chaired by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, was told that the complainant was unlawfully detained and tortured by SARS, and is currently receiving medical attention at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
The complainant, who resides at No. 1 Jones St., Apapa Road, Ebute Meta in Lagos, also accused SARS of unlawful arrests and detention, extortion as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
He said, “On March 3, 2017, at 5.00 p.m., I heard a gunshot and saw people running helter-skelter. I saw men with guns in mufti, they came with a van without number plates.
“I got out and saw that the men had raided some of the residents. I tried to approach them with my Vigilance Identity Card but was shot by the men.
“The bullets did not penetrate into my body because I was fortified by my father. I am a native of Osun State, no gunshot can penetrate into my body,” he told the panel.
The complainant said that the SARS members removed their mufti when they were about to leave. “And I saw SARS logo on them,” he said.
The defence counsel, Mr. S. Idachaba, objected to the claims of the complainant, saying that there was no case of gunshot in the medical report presented by him.
After 15 minutes break, the chairman of the panel ruled that the case be put on hold in order to give room for more evidence. The public hearing will continue today and it has received 36 complaints in South-West Zone on alleged human rights violation by SARS.