Ezu River police SARS killings revisited as rights group indicts Anambra SARS over 35 corpses found in 2013, citing torture and extrajudicial deaths

Ezu River police SARS killings have resurfaced in public discourse following a fresh indictment by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (INTERSOCIETY).

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In a report released Friday in Awka, Anambra State, the rights group alleged that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Anambra State Police Command was responsible for the killing and dumping of about 35 bodies discovered in Ezu River, Amansea, on January 19, 2013.

The document, titled “The Untold Story Of Ezu River Police SARS Killings” and signed by INTERSOCIETY Chairman Emeka Umeagbalasi, condemned the use of torture, custodial violence, and extrajudicial killings as routine policing methods.

According to the group, many detainees in SARS custody were “butchered like animals,” with the killings continuing despite public outcry.

It alleged that the Anambra SARS unit had grown “deadlier and more menacing,” consolidating its “atrocious practices of custodial torture and killing through their theatre of butchery.”

INTERSOCIETY said its decision to revisit the Ezu River police SARS killings stemmed from the “increasing, shocking, saddening and alarming rate” of torture and deaths linked to the squad.

It further called on global watchdogs—including the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch—to intervene.

“Our first reason for issuing this special report is to draw the attention of the world … over the raging and untamed unlicensed butcheries and cruel and degrading treatments perpetrated by Anambra Police SARS operatives against detained citizens,” the group stated.

The report was addressed to several authorities, including then-Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Amnesty International.

When contacted for reaction, Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Umar Garba, declined to comment, noting that he was newly posted to the state.

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The Ezu River police SARS killings remain one of the most haunting unsolved cases of extrajudicial violence in Nigeria’s recent history, symbolizing broader concerns over systemic abuse within law enforcement.