In a bid to put an end to the extrajudicial activities of operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, the Nigeria Police Force has issued fresh directives and guidelines.
These directives include the ban on searching of phones and illegal harassment, extortion and arrest of Nigerians.
The guidelines personally signed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, directed SARS (federal and state), Intelligence Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, State Anti-Kidnapping Unit and other special units to abide by the new directives or risk dismissal.
The IGP stated that no part of the police laws or international protocols authorises the unlawful killing or degrading treatment of fellow citizens as law enforcement agents and no element of its professional training or ethical standards permits any police personnel to deploy lethal weapons either consciously, adding that all reports of abuses violate laid down provisions of the Force.
He stressed that following growing outcry from Nigerians, it had become expedient to reinforce the extant Force Accountability Policy, which holds any officer professionally and criminally liable for the consequences of their actions.
He said, “Any police personnel that, henceforth, abuse his or her powers in a manner that degrades, endangers or threatens the life and other fundamental rights of the citizens shall be promptly arrested, processed through our internal disciplinary machinery and if found culpable, shall be dismissed from service. In addition, such personnel could be charged to court in consonance with their level of criminal liability in the instance.
“All the operatives of the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad, State Special Anti Robbery Squads, Intelligence Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, Anti-kidnapping Squads and any other unit of the Force that operates in mufti under any special nomenclature are banned from routine patrols on the highways and streets. Their operational deployments are to be limited to responses to specific security breaches including armed robbery, kidnapping or other violent incidents and in such instance, they must be expressly authorised by the appropriate police authority.
“All the operatives of the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad, State Special Anti Robbery Squads, Intelligence Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, Anti-kidnapping Squads and any other unit of the Force that operates in mufti under any special nomenclature are also henceforth, banned from engaging in conventional, low-risk duties including stop and search, mounting checkpoints or road blocks, undertaking traffic duties, searching of the persons or assets of any citizen on the streets and other functions which are within the purview of the uniformed conventional police detachments.
“The indiscriminate, unathorised, and degrading search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart electronic devices of citizens by the special units and all police operatives of different formations, zones, commands and units is hereby banned. The only exception is such an act is in furtherance to a specific case that has been reported and is a subject of criminal investigation in specific formation, command, police station or unit. In which case, due process must be followed by the investigating team.”
The Adamu directed all leaders of police formations, commands and units to compile and report all recent cases of abuses of power and violation of rights of citizens by FSARS, SARS, IRT, STS and other police teams to his office not later than Friday 9th October, 2020.
He added that the CP X-Squad, Force Provost Marshall and IGP Monitoring Unit are to immediately coordinate and deploy joint teams across all 36 states commands and the FCT with a view to enforcing the order and any officer found violating the order must be arrested and escorted to the Force headquarters for appropriate action.
DOCUMENT: Order and Directives – Restrictions on the Operations of Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad by Sahara Reporters on Scribd
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