Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, has called for calm in the state as the country continues to record protests by citizens, including Deltans, against the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force.

Recent nationwide protests against the notorious SARS police unit were sparked after a man was killed by SARS personnel in the Ughelli area of Delta State.

The hashtag, #EndSARS has been trending at number one worldwide all week.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, Okowa acknowledged that citizens had the right to protest against any case of perceived wrong in the society, but cautioned that such right must be exercised within the ambit of the law.

He added that the reported killing of a policeman and injuring of another officer of the Police Force during the #EndSARS protests in Ughelli area of the state on Thursday, October 8 was disheartening, and advised that citizens should eschew taking laws into their hands.

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The governor sued for calm and urged the police authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the issues and fish out those who have turned a peaceful protest into violence.

"On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I commiserate with the Commissioner of Police, the Delta State Police Command and the family of the deceased officer, on the unfortunate incident of Thursday at Ughelli," he said.

While sympathizing with the police, the governor urged the Inspector-General of Police to embark on a reform of the tactical squads of the Police Force in the best interest of the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who held a meeting with police boss Mohammed Adamu on Friday, October 9, has promised to reform the entire police force, but protesters have been calling for a complete scrapping of the SARS tactical squad as a first step in curbing the excesses of police personnel.

There have been overnight protests and sit-ins against SARS in Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Delta, Edo and Enugu, among others, in the past week.