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IGP Rebrands SARS, Orders Psychological Evaluation of Personnel

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By Dipo Olowookere

In compliance with the directive of the Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force be overhauled, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr Ibrahim Idris, has announced the dismantling of SARS, replacing it with the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS).

Spokesman for the NPF, Mr Jimoh Moshood, disclosed in a statement yesterday night that a new Commissioner of Police has been appointed as the overall head of FSARS.

Mr Osinbajo had ordered the police chief to reform the unit following complaints and allegations on human rights violations against some of the personnel of SARS in some parts of the country.

According to the statement signed by Mr Moshood, FSARS, previously under the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (FCIID), is henceforth to operate under the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters Abuja.

He said the Commissioner of Police (FSARS) is answerable to the Inspector General of Police through the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations.

He noted that in observance of full compliance with the Presidential directives, the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad will be intelligence driven and will be restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery, kidnapping and the apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences only.

“New FSARS Commanders are being appointed for the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) across the country that will now exist and operate in the state and Zonal Commands under the Commissioner of Police (F-SARS) at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. A Federal SARS Commander of a Rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) but not below Superintendent of Police (SP) will be in charge of FSARS in state and Zonal Commands across the Country.

“All Commissioners of Police have been directed by the Inspector General of Police to comply with this directive with immediate effect and warn their personnel not to pose as SARS operatives.

“The IGP X-Squad and Monitoring Unit have been mandated to go round the Commands and Police Formations nationwide to ensure strict compliance with the Presidential directives and apprehend any erring police officer,” he said.

The statement stressed that a new Standard Operational Guidelines and Procedures, and code of conduct for all FSARS personnel to ensure that the operations of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad is in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regards to international human rights law and constitutionally guaranteed rights of suspects will be enforced in totality by the Commissioner of Police, FSARS.

“Other measures to be implemented by the Force in observance of full compliance with the presidential directives are as follows:

“Human Rights Desk Officers for FSARS in every State to take complaints from the public and forward same to Force Headquarters, the officer will be answerable to the Commissioner of Police, FSARS at the Force Headquarters and not Commander FSARS in the States.

“Medical/Psychological evaluation of all FSARS personnel will be carried out immediately.

“Redesigning of new uniform with identity name tag for all FSARS personnel throughout the country will be done immediately.

“Henceforth, FSARS personnel will not perform Stop and Search duties except on distress call to respond to armed robbery and kidnapping offences only.

“The Force will be transparent, cooperate, and work cordially with the National Human Right Commission on the special panel that will conduct an investigation of the alleged unlawful activities of FSARS to address grievances from the public against the personnel of FSARS in compliance with the presidential directives,” the statement said.

It added that furthermore, a new training program to be organized by the Force in collaboration with some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Local and International NGOs, and other Human Rights Organizations on core Police Duties, Observant of Human Rights and Handling, Care and Custody of Suspects have been directed by the Inspector General of Police for all Federal SARS personnel nationwide with immediate effect.

In addition, a committee of senior police officers, Technical Consultants, Human Rights/Civil Society organizations (CSOs) has been setup to review the activities of FSARS under the new arrangement. They are to pay unscheduled visits to FSARS formations across the country with particular attention to States with high complaints index, to assess facilities and situations in these States and submit report to the Inspector General of Police on regular basis.

Mr Moshood said however, aggrieved members of the public who have any complaint in the past or present of violation of their rights by any Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) personnel anywhere in the country are to report through any of the following channels for investigation and redress.

DIG, Department of Operations on 08037025670, IGP X-SQUAD on 0902 690 0729, 08078662130, 08174041000 – CALLS, 0903 227 8905 – SMS, 0903 562 1377 – whatsapp, Email: [email protected], IGP Monitoring Unit: [email protected], 08036242591, Commissioner of Police, FSARS: 08033476852, FORCE PUBLIC COMPLAINT BUREAU, 07056792065 Calls/SMS/whatsapp, 08088450152, Calls/SMS/whatsapp, Email: [email protected], [email protected], Twitter: @PoliceNG
www.facebook.com/ngpolice

PUBLIC COMPLAINT RAPID RESPONSE UNIT (PCRRU)
08057000001 – Calls Only
08057000002 – Calls Only
08057000003 – SMS & whatsapp only
Twitter: @PoliceNG_PCRRU
www.facebook.com/PolicePCRRU
NGOs/CSOs

vii. [email protected], 08027757359

viii. [email protected], [email protected], 09051133035

ix. [email protected]

x. [email protected], 07037887630

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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IFMA Nigeria Gets Branch in Oyo, Picks Adejumo Olusola Babatunde as Coordinator

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IFMA Nigeria Oyo branch

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A new branch of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Nigeria Chapter has been established in Oyo State, with Mr Adejumo Olusola Babatunde chosen as Coordinator.

The organisation set up an arm in the South-West state in a bid to expand its footprint in the country. Mr Babatunde will be assisted by other executive committee members, including Mr Ajiboye Olusola Akeem as Secretary, and Mrs Adeniran Olaide as Treasurer.

At the inauguration of the branch at the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Secretariat in the Akobo area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the president of IFMA Nigeria, Mr Sheriff Daramola, expressed delight at the successful inauguration of the branch and commended members for their commitment to the growth of facility management in Nigeria.

He highlighted IFMA’s global heritage, noting that the association is supporting over 25,000 members in more than 140 countries worldwide. Mr Daramola emphasised IFMA’s strong global network, the world’s largest and most widely recognised association for facility management professionals, headquartered in the United States and its growing influence in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

“IFMA members have taken positions of authority across federal, state, and private institutions; IFMA Nigeria is positioned to ensure our professionals are the first choice for global investors entering the Nigerian market,” he stated.

The Legal Adviser of IFMA, Nigeria, Mr Sola Fatoki, who shared this sentiment, said, “Since 1997, when IFMA Nigeria was established, the association has equipped facility management professionals with integrated knowledge spanning human behaviour, infrastructure, and the built environment.”

He encouraged engineers, architects, surveyors, ITC, Technology innovators, data analysts and allied professionals to see IFMA as their professional home and outlined the functions and responsibilities of branch executive committees.

In his remarks, Mr Babatunde expressed gratitude to the national council for the opportunity to serve and pledged to ensure the success of the branch, focusing on unity and the professional advancement of stakeholders in the region.

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We Didn’t Recommend Ceding Disputed Oil Wells to States—RMAFC

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RMAFC

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has denied reports that some disputed crude oil and gas wells have been recommended for ceding to specific oil-producing states.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the chairman of the commission, Mr Mohammed Shehu, said the attention of RMAFC had been drawn to a “purported report allegedly issued by the Inter-Agency Committee on the Verification of Coordinates of Disputed Crude Oil and Gas Wells between States,” which was circulating in sections of the national media (excluding Business Post).

The agency described the report as “misleading, premature, and does not represent the position or conclusions of the Commission.”

“At this stage, there is no finalised recommendation or decision regarding the ceding or reallocation of any oil wells, as due institutional processes are still ongoing,” the statement read.

The organisation explained that it operates a clearly defined and transparent procedure in handling assignments of national significance, stressing that the process on the disputed oil wells had not been concluded.

It disclosed that it only received a draft report from the Federal Government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Nigeria’s Oil-Producing States on Friday, February 13, 2026, which reportedly projected Cross River State as an oil-producing state.

The report, covering the nationwide 2017–2025 verification of crude oil and gas coordinates, was presented to the Chairman of RMAFC by 10 of the 14 members of the committee.

The exercise, which ran from August 2025 to February 2026, involved extensive field verification, technical reconciliation of state submissions, and a final plenary plotting of coordinates at RMAFC headquarters between January 24 and 31, 2026.

“Consistent with established protocol, the draft document has been transmitted to relevant technical and statutory stakeholders, namely the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the National Boundary Commission, and the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, for detailed review, observations, and technical input,” the commission stated.

According to the statement, after the observations and recommendations of the agencies are received, the matter will be subjected to further scrutiny by the commission’s internal tripartite committees, comprising the Committee on Crude Oil, Gas and Investment and the Legal Matters Committee.

“These committees will undertake comprehensive technical and legal reviews before presenting their findings to the Plenary Session of RMAFC for deliberation and final recommendations,” it added.

The commission further explained that upon completion of the institutional processes, its final report would be formally transmitted to the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation for necessary consideration and further action in line with applicable laws and constitutional provisions.

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Social Media Platform X Suffers Outages Globally

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X Twitter

By Adedapo Adesanya

Social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, suffered an outage globally on Monday as millions of users could not use the service.

The widespread outages have been reported by thousands of users across several countries, including Nigeria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and India, among others.

According to data from Downdetector, a website that tracks service disruptions based on user reports, complaints about access to X started to pick up around 1:00 p.m. local time in Nigeria.

The cause of the outage was not immediately clear, and X has not put out any comment, but users told Business Post that the platform is not loading or cannot be reached, and the pattern of complaints suggests the issue is not limited to a single region.

Its developer platform status page stated “all systems are operational” all morning despite the reports.

The outage is the latest to hit internet services. X suffered a similar outage in March 2025, while a Cloudflare service outage caused access problems and downtime for various websites, including X, last November.

Microsoft’s Azure had also faced an issue last year, while disruption at Amazon AWS caused global turmoil among thousands of websites and some of the most popular apps, such as Snapchat and Reddit in October

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