Naija Police Force don come out to make am clear say di Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, no dissolve any tactical teams for di kontri. Instead, di police boss just give order say dem go reduce di number of tactical teams wey dey for police formations across Nigeria. Dis one na part of efforts to make supervision better and address di plenty complaints wey pipo dey talk about police tactical teams.
According to di Force Public Relations Officer, Anthony Placid, di directive mean say tactical teams for Zonal and State Command levels no go pass five teams maximum. For Area Commands and Divisions, dem no go pass three teams maximum. Placid explain say dis decision follow concerns about how tactical units don dey increase too much and di alleged excesses wey some poorly supervised teams dey do.
Di police spokesperson talk say di reduction fit happen by merging or disbanding teams, and di heads of formations go decide how dem go do am. Di move dey expected to free up police personnel wey dem go deploy go police stations and divisions, wey don dey suffer manpower shortages because of how tactical teams don dey increase.
“Di IGP direct di reduction of tactical teams at Zonal and State Command levels to maximum five, and Area Command and Divisional levels to maximum three. Dis one fit happen by merging or disbanding teams, at di heads of formations’ discretion,” Placid talk for statement wey im release for Abuja on Sunday.
Im add say di directive no go affect state government-created outfits like Lagos Rapid Response Squad, Oyo Special Response Squad and Bayelsa‘s Operation DOO-AKPOR, as well as similar units across di kontri. “Di teams wey we dey talk about no include State Government-created outfits like Lagos’ Rapid Response Squad, Oyo’s SRS, and Bayelsa’s Operation DOO-AKPOR and other similar outfits across di kontri. Di IGP expect dis move to free personnel for Police Stations, to reduce complaints about tactical team excesses,” im talk.
Di Force talk say di decision na to make supervision strong, improve accountability and reduce complaints against tactical teams while dem dey boost policing for grassroots level. “After wey IGP talk about accountability and people-friendly Force for im maiden address to Nigerians, im take dis step to make supervision of existing teams better, strengthen Police Divisions, and remove causes of complaints against di Force by members of di public,” Placid talk.
Di clarification come after one media report talk say di IG order immediate dissolution of tactical units across state commands nationwide. Di police describe di publication as misrepresentation of di IGP directive. Placid talk say di IG only direct reduction in di number of tactical teams to address public concerns about dia operations and alleged excesses.
According to am, di police chief acknowledge di contribution of tactical units to crime-fighting but im express concern about dia proliferation, wey im talk say dey drain manpower from police divisions and posts, while creating supervision challenges wey affect di integrity of di Force.
Dis move by di IGP come as many Nigerians don dey complain about police tactical teams for different parts of di kontri. Some pipo talk say some of dis teams dey abuse dia power, dey harass innocent citizens, and dey engage for illegal activities. Di police force don promise to address dis issues and make policing better for grassroots level.
Di reduction of tactical teams go mean say more police officers go dey available for regular police work for stations and divisions. Dis one fit help improve police visibility for communities and make response to crimes faster. Di police force don talk say dem go continue to monitor di situation and make adjustments as dem dey need am.
For now, di directive don take effect and heads of police formations across Nigeria dey work to implement am according to di guidelines wey di IGP give. Di police force don assure Nigerians say dis move go make police work better and address di concerns wey pipo get about tactical teams.
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