10 things you need to know about the ban on F-SARS, others

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Sunday banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force from embarking on routine patrols.

In a statement by the spokesman of the Force, DCP Frank Mba, the IGP “banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force including the Special Tactical Squad (STS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Anti-Cultism Squad and other Tactical Squads operating at the Federal, Zonal and Command levels, from carrying out routine patrols and other conventional low-risk duties – stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, etc – with immediate effect.”

Following the Police boss directive, here are 10 things you need to know about the IGP’s position on F-SARS.

1. The IGP has banned FSARS, STS, and IRT from routine patrol on the streets.

2. FSARS, STS, and IRT are banned from conventional low-risk duties, stop and search, checkpoints, roadblock, and traffic check with immediate effect.

3. No police officer including personnel from FSARS, STS, IRT is authorised to embark on patrol or tactical assignment on mufti.

4. FSARS, STS, IRT personnel must appear in their police uniforms or approved tactical gear while on official assignment.

5. No more indiscriminate and unauthorised search of phones and laptops and other smart devices.

6. FSARS and other tactical squads must concentrate and respond only to cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, and other violent crimes when the cases arise.

7. The X-Squad and the Monitoring Unit are to monitor and arrest the erring personnel of FSARS and other policemen on the road.

8. The CP in charge of FSARS, the CPs in charge of State Commands and FCT, as well as their supervisory Zonal AIGs, will be held liable of misconduct of FSARS personnel and others within their jurisdiction.

9. Affected AIGs and CPs are to ensure the effective supervision of FSARS personnel and others within their jurisdiction.

10. Finally, the police boss has appealed to citizens not to allow the misconduct by a few personnel of the force to negatively impact on their confidence and trust in the police.