There is disquiet within the Nigeria Police Force following an order by Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tunji Disu directing the immediate dissolution of multiple tactical units operating across state commands nationwide.
The directive, communicated through an internal wireless message obtained by SaharaReporters, was issued after a virtual meeting between senior police officers and the IGP.
According to the message, all existing tactical teams at the command, area command, and divisional levels, regardless of their operational names, have been ordered dissolved with immediate effect.
“Following the IGP’s directives at the just concluded Zoom meeting with Commissioners of Police and above, all existing tactical teams at commands are being reformed into two, with operational names to be provided by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations,” the message read in part.
The signal further specified that units such as “Lion, Tiger, Scorpion squads and others by whatever names called” are no longer to operate in their current form.
Under the new arrangement, only area commands and divisional surveillance units are permitted to function temporarily, pending further directives.
Personnel from the disbanded units are to be redeployed into conventional policing structures, including patrol and guard duties, the Divisional Crime Branch (DCB), Juvenile and Women Centre (JWC), and general beat assignments.
“The dissolved teams are to be subsumed into patrol and guard, DCB, JWC and beat with immediate effect,” the directive added.
The police hierarchy also indicated that further details regarding the restructuring would be unveiled during the end-of-month Officers’ Conference scheduled for March 26, 2026.
While the rationale behind the sweeping reform was not explicitly stated, the move comes amid longstanding public concerns over the conduct of certain tactical units, many of which have been accused of human rights abuses, extortion, and extrajudicial operations.
Police sources told SaharaReporters on Sunday that the police IGP memo disbanding special units however spared notorious units such as the RRS, Anti-Cultism, Anti-Kidnapping, Scorpion, TIRS, SWAT, IGP Monitoring, Tiger, Gender, Anti-Robbery etc.
This restructuring is coming a few days after the IGP ordered a special resit promotion examination and interactive session for senior officers who were reportedly overlooked in previous cycles.
A confidential police wireless message obtained by SaharaReporters, dated March 16, 2026, shows that the Police Service Commission (PSC) has rescheduled the exercise for Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs), Chief Superintendents of Police (CSPs), and Superintendents of Police (SPs) who were “not successful” in the December 2025 and March 2026 promotion cycles.
Insiders had told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that the affected officers were allegedly sidelined by a sophisticated bribery scheme orchestrated during the tenure of former IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
According to sources, Egbetokun’s leadership, with the alleged complicity of senior PSC officials, systematically blocked deserving officers from promotions while advancing junior officers who paid large bribes, effectively stalling the careers of senior personnel.
The current IGP is reportedly moving to “reconsider and rectify” these injustices by providing a transparent window for the sidelined officers to earn their next ranks.
The signal, issued by Nigeria Police Force Secretary, directs all commands to release the affected officers to attend the interview as scheduled. To ensure the integrity of the process, the officers are “strongly advised to refresh their memories” in core areas including professional studies, law, and local acts.
The IGP has also ordered a high-security detail for the exercise.
The AIGPOL MOPOL is required to provide “twelve (12) neatly turned-out armed men for escort duty,” while the transport wing (TRANSFOR) is to provide “two (2) serviceable Hilux vans” to be placed on standby at the FHQ Parade Ground by 06:00 HRS.
