The Nigeria Police on Sunday said it has banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads from carrying out routine patrols and mounting roadblocks with immediate effect.
Other units affected by the new order are the Special Tactical Squad (STS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Anti-Cultism Squad and other Tactical Squads operating at the Federal, Zonal and Command levels.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed.
The statement said the units are banned ”from carrying out routine patrols and other conventional low-risk duties – stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, etc – with immediate effect.
It also said ”no personnel of the Force is authorized to embark on patrols or tactical assignments in mufti. They must always appear in their police uniforms or approved tactical gear”.
Giving the reason for the directive and what it entails, Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said, ”The IGP’s directives come against the backdrop of findings by the leadership of the Force that a few personnel of the Tactical Squads hide under these guise to perpetrate all forms of illegality, contrary to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement establishing the squads.
”Specifically, the IGP has warned the Tactical Squads against the invasion of the privacy of citizens particularly through indiscriminate and unauthorized search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart devices. They are to concentrate and respond only to cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes when the need arises.
”The IGP notes that the FSARS and other Police Tactical Squads remain a critical component of the Force in confronting prevailing and emerging violent crimes in the country.”
The police spokesperson said the IGP condemned all forms of unprofessionalism, abuse and high-handedness by some personnel of the squads, adding that the X-Squad and the Monitoring Unit ”will embark on immediate and massive nationwide monitoring of activities of Tactical Squads and other police officers on the road” and are to ”ensure prompt arrest, investigation and prosecution of all erring police officers who violate these directives and other extant regulations of the Force”.
The IGP, according to Mba, has also warned that the Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Commissioners of Police in charge of State Commands and the FCT, as well as their supervisory Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police, will be held liable for any misconduct by operatives under them.