The Acting Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar Adamu on Monday ordered immediate re-organization of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.
The order was contained in a statement issued during his maiden meeting with Commissioners of Police, CPs and officers above, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Adamu also disclosed that he has approved the establishment of Special Election Investigation Team, SEIT, ahead of the general elections, saying the body would be tasked with the “exclusive functions of taking in custody and undertake detailed investigation of all arrested electoral offenders across the country.”
He further said all quasi-investigation and operation and operations outfit including the Special Investigation Panel, SIP, and Special Tactical Squad, STS or any other such teams under whatever name have been disbanded.
Under the reorganization measures, he said SARS which was hitherto, centralized at the Force Headquarters, had been decentralized, urging the Commissioners of Police in each of the 36 police command and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to assume full command and control on all SARS in their commands, adding that the Force Headquarters’ unit of SARS was now “subsumed under the command of the DIG Force Criminal Intelligence Investigation Department, FCIID.
“The import of this is that the DIG FCIID and command CPs shall from this date, not only assume administrative and operational control of SARS in their respective commands, they shall also be held liable for any professional misconducts resulting from the operations of the unit in their commands.
“Similarly, all quasi-investigation and operations outfits including the Special Investigation Panel,SIP and Special Tactical Squad, STS or any other such teams under whatever name are hereby disbanded. The DIG FCIID is to take over and review all cases that such teams are currently handling as well as official assets on charge of them and submit a detailed report to my office within two weeks.
“Similarly, comprehensive reorganization will be undertaken in the investigative, intelligence and special operations arms of the Force comprising of the Police Mobile Force, Counterterrorism Unit and the Special Protection Unit,” he added.
