The Nigeria Police Force has refuted reports claiming that the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, ordered the complete disbandment of all tactical units across state commands.
In a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anthony Placid, the police described the reports as a misinterpretation of the IGP’s directive.
According to the statement, some media outlets had suggested that the police chief directed the immediate dissolution of multiple tactical units nationwide, a claim the force insists is inaccurate.
“The attention of the Inspector-General of Police has been drawn to the above-captioned story recently circulated by some online media outlets.
“The publication stated that the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, directed the immediate dissolution of multiple tactical units operating across state commands nationwide. This report is a misrepresentation of the IGP’s directives,” the statement read in part.
The police explained that while the IGP acknowledges public concerns regarding the conduct of some tactical teams, he also recognises their importance in combating crime.
“Having held command positions nationwide and witnessed tactical teams in action, the IGP values their contribution to crime-fighting. He is however uncomfortable with their proliferation, which drains Police Divisions and Posts of required manpower and brings issues that affect the Force’s integrity because of the excesses of the poorly supervised teams.
“To address these issues, the IGP directed the reduction of the tactical teams at Zonal and State Command levels to a maximum of five, and Area Command and Divisional levels to a maximum of three,” the police stated.
The force added that this restructuring may involve merging or disbanding some units at the discretion of command leaders.
It also clarified that the directive does not affect state-established outfits such as Lagos State’s Rapid Response Squad, Oyo State’s Special Response Squad (SRS), and Bayelsa State’s Operation DOO-AKPOR, among others.
The police noted that the move is aimed at freeing up personnel for deployment to police divisions, strengthening grassroots policing, and addressing public concerns over misconduct by some tactical teams.