Inspector-General Olatunji Disu Rejects Claims of Tactical Unit Dissolution While Implementing Strict Personnel Caps Nationwide

Nigeria Police PRO Anthony Placid clarifies that tactical units are being trimmed, not disbanded, to improve supervision and boost local station manpower.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 23, 2026, 6:12 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from iSaturday

Clarifying the Strategic Realignment of Police Teams

The Nigeria Police Force has moved to correct widespread reports suggesting a total dissolution of its tactical units, describing such claims as a fundamental misrepresentation of the Inspector-General's recent directives. According to Force Public Relations Officer Anthony Placid, the objective under Inspector-General Olatunji Disu is not to eliminate specialized units but to refine their structure for easier management. This strategic shift follows growing public concerns regarding the unchecked proliferation of these teams, which the current leadership believes has negatively impacted the overall integrity of the force through a lack of standardized oversight.

Implementing Mandatory Personnel Limits Across Formations

To address the issues of poorly supervised teams and the resulting backlash from the public, the Inspector-General has mandated a strict reduction in the size and number of these specialized groups. Under the new guidelines, Zonal and State Commands are restricted to a maximum of five tactical teams, while Area Commands and Divisional levels are capped at three. According to the force’s leadership, these reductions can be achieved through either the merging or the selective disbanding of existing squads, a process that remains at the discretion of the heads of individual formations across the country.

The Logic of Manpower Redistribution to Local Divisions

A primary motivation for this reorganization is the need to bolster the strength of standard police stations and posts, which have reportedly suffered from a lack of personnel due to the growth of specialized units. The Inspector-General, who views himself as a grassroots officer, argues that the current proliferation drains required manpower from the front lines of community policing. By trimming these tactical units, the force expects to free up a significant number of officers for deployment to local divisions, thereby improving response times and removing common causes of public complaints regarding police accessibility.