The man who set up the hated Nigerian police unit, SARS, accused of human rights abuses has told the BBC that he feels “sad” and “guilty” about what the agency has become.
“SARS of today is not the same SARS I established in 1984,” Fulani Kwajafa said.
He said that the agency had departed from the values of serving honourably.
Officers from the Special Anti Robbery Squad have been accused of committing extrajudicial killings and torture.
President Mohammadu Buhari announced the disbandment of the agency this week after thousands of Nigerians took to the streets to protest against police brutality.
A new agency called Swat has been formed to take over duties performed by Sars but this has also been rejected by the protesters.
Mr Kwajafa said that the changes might be undermined if there’s no “change in mentality”.
He added that the code of conduct that he set up when creating Sars had ensured that there was “no incident with members of the public” when he was in charge.
