After modeling the United States of America’s fight against Covid-19, Nigeria, through the Inspector General of Police- Muhammed Adamu, has again chosen the American Policing path by creating the SWAT unit.
The new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) will replace the banned Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). It will be charged with the functions performed by the defunct SARS.
DCP Frank Mba, Force Public Relations Officer reported in a statement that prospective members of SWAT would undergo a psychological and medical examination to ascertain their fitness and eligibility for the new assignment. Also, prospective SWAT officers will undergo training at the different Police tactical training institutions nationwide from next week.
Personnel from the Police Commands in the South-East and the South-South will be trained at the Counter-Terrorism College, Nonwa-Tai, Rivers State, while others from Police Commands in the North and the South-West will be trained at the Police Mobile Force Training College, Ende, Nasarawa State, and the Police Mobile Force Training College, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, respectively.
The spokesman for the IGP also enjoined members of the public, particularly protesting citizens, to lay down their placards, exercise some patience, and allow measures being put in place to come to fruition and engender a Police Force that would meet the demands of the public.
However, the flaw which makes a big mockery of everything the IG has said is that they failed to state what makes a policeman eligible to be drafted into the SARS unit. Policemen should first attain a criterion before they can then go for the psychological and medical examination, to ascertain their fitness and eligibility for the new SARS sorry SWAT team. They are simply moving the policemen from the defunct SARS to the new SWAT which defeats the entire purpose because every one of them will surely pass that test!
Slot racketing will also spring up as top Police Officers will put in their “Loyal Boys” as those to sit for the SWAT test. All these will not come up if SARS is truly disintegrated and the new SWAT officers recruited from scratch based on their previous record!
