Establishment, Composition and Training of Nigeria Police SWAT to Replace the Disbanded SARS

Friday, October 16,2020 / 01:52 PM / by Office of The IGP / Header ImageCredit: Twitter; @PoliceNG

Following the dissolution of the Special Anti-RobberySquads (SARS) in all Police Formations and State Commands across the country,approval is hereby given for the establishment of Special Weapons and TacticsTeam (SWAT) as the new operational framework to replace the disbanded Squads.

2. The new SWAT outfit will comprise of officers andmen that will be selected based on clearly defined criteria and they will bespecially trained in weapons handling and tactical operations. They shall alsobe oriented to operate within very high professional and ethical standards,rule of law dictates and best international policing practices that will alignwith our national democratic values and yearnings of the citizens.

3. Mandate of the SWATTeam

The mandate of the SWAT Team will be strictlyintelligence-led and limited to the following:

Response to robbery attacks
Response to scenes of weapon-related crimes
Rescue Operations
Special Operations involving high-profile criminalsthat constitute threats to national security including anti-banditry,counterterrorism and counter-insurgency operations which will require specialtactical response.

4. Structure andComposition

The SWAT Outfit shall comprise of a State Commander,Second-in-Command and thirty-six (36) other officers and men. The breakdown isas follows:

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It isto be noted that in the long-term, the number of SWAT Teams per state will beexpanded based on the assessment of the security realities of each StateCommand.

5. Selection Criteria:

Thecriteria for the selection of officers and men of the SWAT Teams are asfollows:

Age- must be between the ages of 2 5 - 40 years for operational elements andbetween the ages of 35 - 45 years for command elements.
Service - must have not less than seven (7) years policing service experience.
Physical Fitness- must be physically fit to withstand the rigour of SWATTraining and Operation. Physical fitness test will include Cooper's Test.
Medical and Psychological Fitness- must be certified as medically, emotionallyand psychologically fit. All personnel will as a critical pre-requisite undergoand pass medical examination, psychometry and toxicological screening for drugof abuse which will be conducted by the Police Medical Services during trainingand those found to be unsuitable shall be discharged.
Discipline - must not have any pending disciplinary matter or any seriousprevious record of professional misconduct touching on intemperate behaviour,incivility to members of the public, corrupt practices and misuse of firearmsamong others.
Eligibility - Officers and Men to be Selected must not be one of the personnelin the recently dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

6. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

StandardOperating Procedure (SOP) which will act as the protocol that will regulate theprocesses, conduct and operations of the SWAT Teams is being developed. Theofficers and operatives of the Outfit shall be held accountable based on theextent of their compliance with the SOP.

7. Kits and Accoutrements

Personnelof the Outfit shall be kitted with specially branded uniforms, kits andaccoutrements. Under the new policy, no personnel will be authorized to use anyuniform, kits or accoutrements other than as approved for the Outfit andofficially issued to them. On no account must they also undertake any operationwithout the branded items. The details of this shall be contained in theStandard Operating Procedure of the Outfit.

8. Training Programme

Nopersonnel of the team shall be engaged without being screened, speciallytrained and certified as a SWAT Officer. The basic training will be three weekslong and shall be conducted at the PMF Training College, Illa-Orogun, OsunState; PMF Training College, Ende Hills, Nasarawa State; and PTS Nonwa-Tai, RiversState commencing from Sunday 18th October, 2020.

Thefirst batch of the training shall comprise of fifty (50) officers and men to beselected from the FCID, the 36 State Police Commands and the FCT. It is to benoted that the selected personnel will be screened and their suitabilityascertained at the Training Institutions. State Commands that requireadditional SWAT Teams will have their personnel trained during the second andsubsequent phases of the training.

9. Training Schedule

TheTraining will hold simultaneously at the three (3) designated Police Colleges ISchool as scheduled below

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10. Order and Directives

Inorder to facilitate the immediate take-off of the newly approved NPF-SWAT Team,it is directed as follows:

1. TheDIG FCID and Commissioners of Police in each of the 36 States of the Federationand the FCT are to screen and select a total of fifty (50) officers and menfrom each of their commands with the following breakdown:

CSP -2
SP -2
DSP -5
ASP - 5
INSPR& NCOs - 30
NCO(Drivers)- 6

2. Theselection of the officers and men MUST take cognisance of the SelectionCriteria listed in Page 2 Paragraph 5.

3. TheDIG FCID and each Commissioner of Police across all the State Police Commandsare to arrange and transport the fifty (50) selected officers in theirrespective Command to the Training Colleges I School for which they arescheduled as contained in Page 4 -5.

4. Allthe officers and men MUST arrive and do cum en t on Sunday 18th October, 2020at their designated training facility

5. Theselected personnel to come along with basic training kits including canvass,white and black T -Shits; dark grey trousers; combat dresses and track suits.

6. Theranks, names and ages of the nominated personnel should be forwarded to theOffice of the Inspector General of Police, DIG Training and Development, andthe Deputy Commissioner of Police (Peacekeeping Directorate, FHQ, Ahuja) notlater than Friday 16th October, 2020.

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