How a police unit established to combat armed robbery became synonymous with unlawful killings, torture and extortion.
![A demonstrator protests against Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos on October 17 [Temilade Adelaja/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/RTX830UR.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Sada Malumfashi is a writer and freelance journalist from Kaduna, Nigeria, and a fellow of RSF Germany’s Berlin Scholarship Programme. His reports have been published in various media including The Africa Report, The Republic, Women's Media Center, This Is Africa, Asymptote and Music in Africa.
How a police unit established to combat armed robbery became synonymous with unlawful killings, torture and extortion.
![A demonstrator protests against Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos on October 17 [Temilade Adelaja/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/RTX830UR.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
A Chinese-backed railway was supposed to reinvigorate communities along its route, but residents have mixed feelings.
