No personnel of the defunct SARS will be selected to be part of the new tactical team SWAT- police says

The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Frank Mba, has said that no personnel of the defunct SARS unit will be selected to be part of the new Tactical team SWAT.

On Tuesday, October 13, the police announced that a new tactical team which is to be called Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, has been created to replace the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Many Nigerians have kicked against this move, opining that the new SWAT team will not be different from the band SARS since the same officers will run the same unit.

However, in a press release shared on Wednesday evening October 14, Frank Mba said no personnel from the disbanded SARS will be part of the new tactical team. He also mentioned that operatives in the tactical team are barred from the indiscriminate and unlawful search of phones, laptops, and other smart devices.

According to Mba, some of the important facts about the newly created tactical team include

-No personnel of the defunct SARS will be selected to be part of the new TACTICAL team

-Operations of the new TACTICAL team will ve strictly intelligence-driven

-Members of the new TACTICAL team will by no means embark on routine patrols

-Members of the new TACTICAL team are barred from the indiscriminate and unlawful search of phones, laptops, and other smart devices.

-Operatives of the new TACTICAL team must be free of any pending disciplinary matter especially those touching on misuse of firearms and abuse of human rights.

He pointed out that the sole responsibility of the new tactical team will be 

– Response to Robbery attacks

-Response to scenes of weapon-related crimes

-Rescue operations

-Special operations involving high profile criminals