Sequel to the illegal raid conducted by operatives Special Tactical Squad (STS) on the Abuja residence of elder statesman, Edwin Clark on Tuesday, the Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris on Friday ordered the immediate scrapping of the controversial unit within the force.
All personnel hitherto attached to the STS have now been collapsed into the police’s investigation units at different departments and formations, according to an announcement by police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood.
Moshood, a deputy police commissioner, said the “tactical operations and statutory core police duties that the dissolved Special Tactical Squad (STS) were charged with are now collapsed and will be carried out by other operational, investigative and response units.”
The disbandment, which takes immediate effect, comes three days after Mr Clark’s home in the exquisite Asokoro neighbourhood was raided by police officers. The police said the officers did not secure appropriate clearance before proceeding on the raid, an approach which Idris considered illegal and distanced himself from.
Three of the four officers who participated in the controversial search were summarily sacked yesterday. The fourth officer, an assistant superintendent of police, has been suspended as investigation into his role is being thoroughly conducted, police said.
Idris also sent senior police officers, including a deputy inspector-general, to apologise to Mr Clark, an elder statesman perhaps more prominent for his Niger-Delta advocacy in recent years.
Clark, 91, said he had accepted the police’s apology, but insisted nonetheless that the operation was sanctioned at the high-levels of police command chain, a claim the police continue to push back against.
The STS, an elite investigation team crucial to the operations of the IGP Monitoring Team, is headed by a deputy police commissioner. A deputy superintendent of police coordinated administrative duties at the department. It was not immediately clear whether the two officers were amongst the four officers Moshood said are currently facing disciplinary measures.
