One former operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), with a name Olushola Wazzi Popoola has been denied refugee request in Canada after it was gathered that he was a member of the SARS.
Well, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a Nigerian Police Force unit created in late 1992 to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms. It was part of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID).
SARS was scrapped after the ENDSARS peaceful protest swept through Lagos state that revived the movement of the civilians.
As per the Canadian embassy, Olushola Wazzi Popoola does not fit to get entry into Canada because of his history with the SARS who mostly went about brutalizing innocent civilians.
The statement of the embassy reads in part:
[1] Mr. Popoola is a citizen of Nigeria and a former member of the Nigerian Police Force. He was found to be inadmissible to Canada because there are reasonable grounds to believe that he engaged in crimes against humanity while serving as a police officer in Nigeria. He now seeks judicial review of his determination of inadmissibility. I am dismissing his application, because the decision-maker reasonably assessed the relevant factors for deciding whether Mr. Popoola made a knowing and significant contribution to the crimes committed by the Nigerian Police Force.
[2] Mr. Popoola completed his training and became a member of the Nigerian Police Force in 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he was a member of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad [SARS] in Abuja. He was then transferred to the anti-robbery unit (not to be confused with the SARS) in Lagos until 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he returned to the SARS, this time in Lagos.
[3] In 2011, following the death of his father, Mr. Popoola resigned from the Nigeria Police Force. According to his testimony, however, the Force never formally accepted his resignation and he had to continue reporting to work. From 2011, he was affected to Iju as an ordinary police officer. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2015 and he left the Force the same year.
[4] In 2016, he left Nigeria for the United States. He then came to Canada, where he claimed refugee status. His claim was suspended while his case was referred to the Immigration Division [ID] of the Immigration and Refugee Board for a determination of his inadmissibility.
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