Not Disbandment! IGP Disu Sets Record Straight On Police Units Shake-Up

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed reports claiming that the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, ordered the disbandment of all police units and squads across state commands, describing such publications as a misrepresentation of his directive.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Force said “the attention of the Inspector-General of Police has been drawn to the above-captioned story recently circulated by some media outlets,” noting that the report alleged that “the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, directed the immediate dissolution of multiple tactical units operating across state commands nationwide.”

The Force, however, clarified that “this report is a misrepresentation of the IGP’s directives.”

According to the statement, the IGP, “a grassroots officer with a profound network across Nigerian society, is aware of public concerns about police tactical teams’ operations and the creation of multiple teams by Commissioners of Police and Heads of formations, with attendant backlash.”

It added that “having held command positions nationwide and witnessed tactical teams in action, the IGP values their contribution to crime-fighting,” but 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 the concerns, the Force said 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,” explaining that “this can be achieved by merging or disbanding teams, at the Heads of formations’ discretion.”

The statement further clarified that “the teams referred to exclude State Government-created outfits like Lagos’ Rapid Response Squad, Oyo’s SRS, and Bayelsa’s Operation DOO-AKPOR and other similar outfits across the country.”

It noted that “the IGP expects this move to free personnel for Police Stations, reducing complaints about tactical team excesses.”

Reaffirming his reform stance, the Force said that “having emphasized accountability and a people-friendly Force in his maiden address to Nigerians, the IGP took this step to enhance supervision of existing teams, strengthen Police Divisions, and remove causes of complaints against the Force by members of the public.”