Skip to main content

IGP Bans FSARS, Other Police Tactical Squads From Routine Patrols


The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force from embarking on routine patrols.


This IGP’s ban was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Force, Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba.


The statement said the IGP “banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force including the Special Tactical Squad (STS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Anti-Cultism Squad and other Tactical Squads operating at the Federal, Zonal and Command levels, 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.”


The officers were warned against carrying out stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, etc with immediate effect.


According to the Force spokesman, the IGP warned the Tactical Squads against the invasion of the privacy of citizens particularly.


This, he said, included the “indiscriminate and unauthorized search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart devices,” adding that “they are to concentrate and respond only to cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes when the need arises.”


Mba said the “directives come against the backdrop of findings by the leadership of the Force that a few personnel of the Tactical Squads hide under these guises to perpetrate all forms of illegality, contrary to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement establishing the squads.”


Following the alleged brutality by security operatives in several parts of the country, many Nigerians took to the social media to express their anger over the activities of men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigerian police, calling for the unit to be proscribed.


On Saturday, the #EndSars hashtag was the number one trend on social media app, Twitter for several hours, bringing back to the fore calls for the proper handling of rogue, high-handed police officials.


The outrage appeared to have been triggered by a post from a Twitter user who said he recorded SARS officials shooting “a young boy dead at Ughelli, Delta state in front of Wetland hotels. 


They left him for dead on the roadside and drove away with the deceased Lexus jeep.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Abuja Bank Robbery: Police Arrest Alleged Mastermind source: Channels The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested the mastermind of the foiled robbery of a first-generation ba nk in the Mpape area of Abuja last Saturday. The suspect, a barman identified as Ernest was nabbed at his hideout by police detectives and is presently being held at the command headquarters by old CBN building, Garki, Abuja. The police had earlier arrested four suspects and gunned down the fourth member of the robbery gang identified as Patrick during the operation. The FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma, had on Tuesday paraded the gang members including a bank employee, Larry Ehizo, 30, Timothy Joe, 21, Princewill Obinna, 24 and Elijah David, 19. Ehizo who allegedly drove the gang members to the bank claimed he was blackmailed by Ernest to carry out the heist. Narrating how the failed heist was executed, David said Ehizo informed the gang members that the r...
GAMBIA PRESIDENT CALLS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ECOWAS PROTOCOLS  Banjul The President of Gambia,  Adama Barrow has stressed the need for ECOWAS member States to put sharper focus on the implementation of ECOWAS Protocols in order to achieve greater regional integration.  President Barrow, while declaring open on Thursday, the Parliamentary Seminar for the Outgoing Fourth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, taking place in Banjul, Gambia, pointed out that institutional capacity remains a major driver of regional integration and must therefore be prioritized.  The Gambian President, while also bemoaning the high rate of youths migration into Europe,  charged political leaders in the subregion to seek to entrench the respect for the fundamental principles of good governance and dialogue as a means of conflict resolution, in order to provide the needed environment for young people to thrive. "We are saddened by the dangerous journeys our youths...

LIBERIA JEWEL TAYLOR CHALLENGE ECOWAS PARLIAMENT ON GENDER EQUALITY

The vice President of Liberia has challenged the ECOWAS Parliament to push for appropriate implementation of the community protocol on gender and human equality across regional and local governments. Vice President Jewel Taylor made this request while concluding her keynote address presented before the Plenary at the official opening of the First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament seating in Abuja. Jewel stated that Gender equality is a fundamental human right, yet women are underrepresented in power and decision making roles, women around the region do not fully experience equal rights and their potential as economic, social and sustainable change-agents remains untapped. She said “Excellency, special guest, distinguish members of the ECOWAS Parliament, as I close, permit me to say I will be remiss if I remain silent at this august gathering of regional leaders about the perennial issue of the lack of gender inequality in our local and regional body politics; ...