To answer the question in the minds of the public, retired Commmisioner of Police, CP Simeon Dalandi Midenda has come out to disclose how he founded the now infamous Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Lagos in 1992.

At that time, Lagos state had been almost entirely overrun by robbers emboldened during the absence of policemen on the streets of the state due to the conflict between the Police and the Nigerian Army Officers after a Police man had shot and killed a Soldier.

Midenda, who was recognized for his amazing feat against robbers in Benin, was made a Superintendent of Police, transferred to Lagos State and asked to set up his own anti-robbery squad.

He said; “to start, fifteen fully armed men and two plain coloured Peugeot Station Wagons were given to me. Mr Taiwo Lakanu, now Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), was appointed my second in command.”

When asked about how the name SARS came to be, he said; “it must be noted that at this time, there were already three anti-robbery squads operating in Lagos.”

“Therefore, I needed a name that was unique with which my own team was to be called and communicated with.

“After several days of trying to coin a name, I failed to come up with a unique name catchy and strong enough to send a message that somebody different was in town

“At the end, I simply added the word ‘Special’ to the already existing Anti-Robbery Squad and it came up with ‘Special Anti-Robbery Squad’, abbreviated as SARS”; he said.

Talking about the challenges faced by his squad during the period, he recalled the dangers during shootouts which cost the lives of some officers and also that he and members of his squad had to treat injured suspects from their personal pockets because the courts and prisons would not accept injured criminals.

He noted that since his time, the squad had deviated from how it was originally supposed to run which was by operating undercover in plain clothes, plain vehicles, and not handling direct complaints from the public.

He however advised that the way forward is for the squad to undergo reorientation back to the original concept, and thereafter, disappear from public view and remain faceless.