#SARSMustEnd Protest: SARS Are Scarier Than Area Boys – Sonia La Reina

Nollywood actor, Ik Ogbonna’s ex-wife, Sonia La Reina has come out to speak against SARS.

She recently narrated her unpleasant experience with SARS officers in Lagos and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to her, despite perceiving area boys to be the worst set of humans out there, they were actually nice to her months back while SARS scared her by chasing her vehicle over nothing.

She added that she brought her son back to Nigeria because she wants him to grow up as a fully grounded Nigerian and Lagosian, so our so-called protectors should not make our environment unsafe.

Her words, “The other day, late in the evening, in Lagos,I had a lil car accident, and “infamous” area boys came out ( immediately lol) but guess what? They were super nice, they actually helped me out & made sure I was fine ! Just a few days later, SARS guys blocked a whole damn street standing on the road with guns , like the worst case scenario armed robbers , and luckily for me, my driver is super skilled and he found a way to reverse fast and miraculously dodge them. Next thing, this guys too got in their vehicle and started chasing us (?!) but thank God we escaped. I don’t want to know what would happen if they caught us. It was like a movie scene or something, I got super scared, and to think that “keeping us all safe” is in their “job description” literally made me feel even worst . I brought my son back to his beautiful country, my second home , because I want him to grow up as a fully grounded Nigerian, a Lagosian , embrace his authentic, rich and unique culture & heritage, and contribute, with love and care, in making his own land better tomorrow when he grows up, but now it’s our turn to stand for what’s right and make it bearable & possible for all our brilliant children, the leaders of tomorrow, to continue building this amazing nation in the best possible way , in freedom , UNITY and safety! #EndSarsNow#EndPoliceBrutality”

What do you think?

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is a Nigerian Police Force unit under the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Anthony Ogbizi. Since 2012, SARS has come under controversy for being linked to acts of extortion, torture, framing and blackmail.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad was founded in 1992 by former police commissioner Simeon Danladi Midenda. The major reason SARS was formed was when Col. Rindam, a Nigerian Army Colonel was killed by police officers at a checkpoint in Lagos.

SARS is one of the 14 units in the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department which was established to detain, investigate and prosecute people involved in crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping and other forms of crimes.

During its formation the Special Anti-Robbery Squad was known to operate covertly. SARS operatives were not allowed to wear police uniform, publicly carry guns or have walkie-talkies. They were given unmarked vehicles with sometimes no license plates or private plate numbers during duty.