By our reporter| The Nigeria police on Wednesday said that no member of the dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) will be a part of the newly constituted Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, dissolved the notorious anti-robbery squad earlier in the week following days of nationwide protest, replacing it with the SWAT unit.
The development, did, however, stop the agitation as the protesters changed their mantra from #EndSARS to #EndSWAT.
According to the protesters, the decision to immediately replace SARS operatives with SWAT is hasty and unpremeditated.
But in a statement via its verified Twitter handle, the police PPRO, Frank Mba refered the new unit as ‘Tactical Team’, and stated that no operative of SARS will be included in the new team.
He also noted that the operations of the Tactical Team will be strictly intelligence-driven. Members of the new Tactical Team are also expected not to embark on routine patrols.
They are equally barred from the indiscriminate and unlawful search of phones, laptops, and other smart devices.
The statement also states that those who will be members of the new Tactical Team must be free of any pending disciplinary matter especially those that touch on misuse of firearms and abuse of human rights.
It adds that the new Tactical Team will only: “respond to robbery attacks, respond to scenes of weapon-related crimes, rescue operations, and special operations involving high profile crimes”.
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